Pokémon Redux - The Kanto Saga
by jbwarner86
Summary: We all know the story of Ash Ketchum's journey...or do we? Commemorate the 20th anniversary of Pokémon's American debut with this new interpretation of a classic saga!
1. A Journey Begins

**(Author's Note: This is something I've always wanted to try - my own interpretation of the story told by the Pokémon anime, with a stronger sense of plot and more character development mixed in. I first attempted it about ten years ago as a webcomic, but it didn't last long. Now, on the occasion of Pokémon's 20th American anniversary, I'm giving it another shot in fanfiction form. This is a very ambitious project and I may not be able to update it regularly, but I'm gonna give it a try and see how well it goes over. Hope you enjoy!)**

"A devastating Night Shade attack rips into Nidorino! This could be the end of it, folks!"

Gengar's body dimmed to pitch black as the deadly purple energy shot from its eyes. Nidorino buckled under the impact, its feet digging desperately into the dirt of the arena. Its magenta body gleamed with sweat and grime. A crowd of thousands groaned in unison, as if they'd felt the impact too.

Ash Ketchum didn't even register the scrape of his own fingernails against his cheeks. He was too invested in the outcome of this battle. No trainer who came this far could back out now. Not against the Elite Four. This was the stuff that dreams were made of.

"Come on, Nidorino," he muttered under his breath. "You can do this! You're stronger than that, I know you are!"

Nidorino wobbled under the strain of keeping itself conscious. Its steely gaze narrowed as it faced Gengar, refusing to go down like this. There was still one ace up its sleeve. The poisonous horn between its eyes began to spark, and the stadium lit up as a massive Thunderbolt erupted forth. Surely, this would work.

Gengar vanished. The electricity tore apart the ground that the ghost Pokémon had stood on half a second before. And in the blink of an eye, there was Gengar again, its stubby arms outstretched, casting a suspicious wave of pink energy from its claw-like hands. The energy wafted over Nidorino's face, and its eyes began to droop…

Ash's stomach fell. "No!" he gasped. "No! What are you doing?! Get up!"

But it was too late. Nidorino hit the arena floor, fast asleep. And with a horrible shock, Ash realized what must be coming next.

Gengar's eyes glowed red. So did Nidorino's unconscious body. And then the great mouse Pokémon writhed in silent agony, as its lifeforce flew from its brain into Gengar's grinning open mouth.

"Oh!" The announcer's wince was audible. "That's the dreaded Hypnosis/Dream Eater combo! Count Nidorino out for this round, folks, it's all the Elite Agatha's game now!"

Ash couldn't believe his senses. How could this happen? How could the battle have gone south so quickly? "No!" he shouted again. "No, you gotta be kidding me!"

And in his haste, he clonked his head on the upper deck of his bed.

Stars blinked in Ash's eyes as he rubbed a hand over the back of his head. Hissing, he glanced around his cluttered bedroom. The match, still unfolding on live television, had been so engrossing, he'd almost forgotten he wasn't actually there at the Indigo Plateau.

"Nobody's kidding anybody, Ash," said a stern voice. Ash looked up to see his mother glaring at him from the doorway, clad in a lavender nightgown. She didn't seem to be sharing in his enthusiasm. "Particularly not me. This doesn't look like the video that Professor Oak gave you…"

Ash got to his feet, straightening his coveted official Pokémon League hat. "Mom, you don't understand!" he said. "It's the final week of the Indigo Conference! This is the guy who's up against the Elite Four!"

"Oh, I understand plenty," said Ash's mom, raising a disbelieving eyebrow. "I understand it's an hour past your bedtime and you've got to be at the professor's lab bright and early tomorrow! Now did you watch that video or not?"

Ash's eyes darted at the TV again, hoping to catch a glimpse of the action. The challenger seemed to have switched Pokémon; Nidorino was no longer in play, but a massive Onix now filled one half of the battlefield.

"Yeah, sure," Ash mumbled, "if you say I did, why not?"

Mrs. Ketchum sighed. "Ash, if you're serious about this Pokémon training thing, you need to know what you're going into! It's a big world out there, you need to learn about what to expect!"

Ash smirked a bit, putting his hands behind his head. "C'mon, Mom," he said, "this isn't gonna be my first time out in the wild with Pokémon. I'll be able to take care of myself."

"Well," Mrs. Ketchum shot back, stepping over Ash's haphazard collection of Pokémon toys, books, and trading cards that covered the carpet like ants, "I for one will feel much more at ease if you just listen to common sense for once in your life, Ash Ketchum. It's the least you can do before you leave home for God knows how long."

She fished the videotape out from under a pile of dirty t-shirts and plugged it into Ash's VCR. With a brief flash of static, the Pokémon battle disappeared, replaced by a bright blue screen. Moments later came a jaunty synthesizer tune and a bright yellow intro screen: PROFESSOR OAK'S GUIDE TO POKÉMON TRAINING.

"There you go," she said, turning to leave. "And you pay attention, okay? This is stuff you need to know!"

Ash flopped down on the bed, admitting defeat. He turned a bored eye to the screen, recognizing the wizened face of Professor Samuel Oak, Pallet Town's leading authority on Pokémon, standing at the table in the center of his lab.

"Hello there! Welcome to the world of Pokémon! My name is Oak! People call me the Pokémon Professor!"

Ash rolled his eyes. He'd met Professor Oak in real life tons of times, and he was never this perky in person.

The Oak on the screen continued. "If you're watching this, it can only mean one thing - you're about to turn 11, and that means you're almost old enough to be granted your Pokémon trainer's license! Let me be the first to say, congratulations! But surely, you must be full of questions! How do I get my first Pokémon? How do I capture Pokémon in the wild? What's the best way to train Pokémon?"

As the video went on, Ash caught snippets of Oak's lecture - pick one of three starting Pokémon, search for wild Pokémon in tall grass, always carry spare Poké Balls - but he didn't need to be told what to do. This was all instinct. Either you had it or you didn't. And Ash knew he had it. How could he not? He'd grown up around Pokémon all his life - Pallet Town, in the quietest and most homey part of the Kanto region, was teeming with all types. Curious squiggly Caterpie that crawled in the gardens, squawking Pidgey that soared overhead in the early morning hours, bobbing Tentacool that washed up on the water's edge sometimes. Ash had seen them all, and he'd had a passion for training ever since seeing his first Pokémon League match on TV. He knew, once he was old enough, that he'd have no trouble blazing through the gym challenge and becoming Pokémon League Champion.

And he knew he'd make it there sooner than Gary.

Gary the great. Gary the amazing. Gary, the snooty stuck-up grandson of Professor Oak, who'd said Ash would never make it as a Pokémon trainer because he could never hope to catch as many different species as him. Just because he grew up learning about Pokémon at his grandpa's lab, he thought that made him an expert. He thought that made him better than Ash. Well, Ash didn't need friends like him anymore. Not ones who teased him, who made him feel like dirt just 'cause he'd never been on a research trip or seen some dumb Kangaskhan up close.

Ash would show Gary who the real champion was. No doubt about it. And someday, that'd be him at the Indigo Plateau, taking on the Elite Four, being declared the ultimate Pokémon Master…

Enough was enough. Ash couldn't focus on Professor Oak droning on about type advantages or whatever. His eyes flicked back to his bedroom door. He was sure his mom was in bed by now, probably even asleep. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her, right?

Lowering the volume to nearly a whisper, Ash flicked the TV from the VCR feed back over to cable. The Indigo Plateau finals reappeared. Onix was still in play, but Agatha had switched to her Golbat - it fluttered over the battlefield, which now had a massive fissure cut through it. How much had he missed?

He vowed not to miss anymore. He had to know how this battle ended. It didn't matter how late it ran. Ten o'clock...eleven o'clock...midnight…

* * *

Ash's eyes flickered open. The morning sun illuminated his bedroom. The familiar sound of twittering Pidgey song met his ears.

He sat up, running a hand through his hair, and smiled. This was it! Today was finally his eleventh birthday! And now all he had to do was head up to Professor Oak's lab. He wanted to make sure he got his pick of the best starter Pokémon - he wasn't the only trainer starting today, and if he didn't make it there on time, the good ones would be gone already. Fortunately, he'd fallen asleep in his clothes again, which would save time…

As Ash rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he paused. Something wasn't right. The early morning sunlight through his window usually hit the wall of his room at this hour. Why was it just a tiny sliver on the floor?

It was almost as if…

Ash's heart began to pound. He flailed around and glanced at his bedside clock.

It was 11:45. He hadn't set the alarm before he fell asleep last night.

"MOM!" Ash bellowed, leaping out of bed like a bolt of lightning. "Why didn't you wake me up?! It's almost noon!"

Mrs. Ketchum opened the door as Ash whirled around the room, stuffing whatever clean clothes he could find into his backpack. "Oh, so you _are_ finally up!" she chirped. "I was wondering when you'd be ready to go. I would've thought you'd be packed up sooner - this is all you've been talking about for weeks…"

"My stupid alarm didn't go off!" Ash panted, tugging on his sneakers. He quickly threw his blue-and-yellow jacket onto his back, hoping against hope that one of the good starter Pokémon hadn't been picked already. "Man, I can't believe this is how my Pokémon journey is gonna start!"

He shoved a few bags of chips into his already overstuffed backpack and threw it over one shoulder, then made a beeline for the door. "Slow down, Ash!" his mom intoned. "You're gonna break something!"

"There's no time to break anything," Ash said absentmindedly, taking the stairs two at a time as he bolted for the front door. "I gotta get there before Gary does!" He wrenched the front door open, and in a flash, he was across the front yard. A wild Rattata took cover under a bush as he tore across the lawn towards the street. "Bye, mom!" Ash shouted over his shoulder. "I'll call you when I get to Viridian City!"

Mrs. Ketchum stood in the doorway, bewildered. "Ash! You're just leaving?! Don't you want a ride to the lab or anything? It'd be faster!"  
"I don't have time!" Ash called back, running full-tilt up the street.

Twenty minutes later, Ash was doubled over, practically wheezing up a lung and clutching a throbbing stitch in his side, as he gripped the fence around Professor Oak's lab for support. He'd made it! Not at all like he'd intended to, but he made it…

But as he wiped the sweat out of his eyes, he recognized the young boy who was just leaving the premises. The spiky brown hair, the smug expression...none of it did anything to brighten Ash's mood.

"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to roll out of bed! What'd you do, Ashy-boy, trip over your own feet on the way here?"

Gary leaned confidently against the front gate, a cocky smirk plastered on his face. Ash's fists clenched as he fought the urge to wipe that smirk right off his rival's stupid head.

"I don't… I don't have…" Ash was still struggling to speak after running over a mile. "I don't have time for you, Gary," he finally managed to grunt. "I gotta go...I gotta pick my starter…"

Gary laughed as he held up a shiny red-and-white Poké Ball. "Too late, Ashy-boy. I already got the last good one. And this thing's gonna be a huge help to me in the first two gyms!" He pocketed the Poké Ball and sneered at his former friend. "Guess you're stuck with the dregs, huh, buddy? Eh, don't worry, maybe Grandpa will feel sorry for you and give you a Caterpie...or a Magikarp or something!"

Ash's body trembled with rage. No part of this day was going right. He tried to wheeze out a retort, but all he could manage was "You...you…"

"Ooh, good comeback, pal," Gary snickered, turning towards the road that led to the Pallet Town border and Route 1. "I guess I'll see you in Viridian City, assuming you even make it that far, you little wimp! Smell ya later!"

Ash tried to catch his breath as he ascended the path to the front entrance. He didn't even bother knocking as he swung the door open, about ready to collapse on the floor.

"I'm here, Professor Oak!" he gasped. "I wanna...I wanna register as...as a Pokémon trainer!"

Professor Oak looked up from his research table, his gray eyes widening with surprise. "Ash!" he exclaimed. "You've arrived! My word, I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind!"

Ash stumbled across the lab, still wobbling slightly. "Sorry, my alarm didn't go off...I meant to be here at like eight...but, uh, anyway, I'm ready to pick my starter Pokémon." He gulped, trying to ease the cold achy feeling in his lungs. "What'd you say on the video? Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle, right?"

Professor Oak's face fell. He rubbed a callused hand across the back of his neck. "Um, yes, well, you see, Ash...the thing is, there were quite a few other young trainers who came to register today, and, ah...well…"

He gestured to a triangular pedestal that stood between a massive bookshelf and a trading computer. There were three empty indents set in it, where Poké Balls would go.

"...I'm afraid all three starters already got picked this morning," Professor Oak finished apologetically.

Ash's insides seemed to turn to lead. He leaned against the table for support.

"I missed them _all?!_ " he squeaked. "But...but now what am I supposed to do? I mean, I can't be a Pokémon trainer without a starting Pokémon!"

"Well," Oak continued, "I'll be receiving another group of starters in about a week's time. You can always come back next Monday, if you don't mind waiting."

Ash ran a hand across his face. A whole week? Who knows how far ahead of him Gary would get? He'd probably have half his gym badges by then…

"I don't know…" Ash mumbled. "I mean… I'd really hoped I could start today, but I guess if there's no other choice…"

Oak's eyes suddenly lit up. "Well, not necessarily, Ash. I mean, I do have other Pokémon in the lab that I've studied from my field research. If you really wish, I could set you up with one of those."

Ash suddenly straightened up. "Really?"

"In fact," Oak added, crossing to the door that led to the Poké Ball containment center, "I think I know just the one for you. It's a little rambunctious, but I bet you two will get along just fine." He got down on his haunches and patted his knees. "Pikachu! That's right, come here, boy!"

Ash blinked. A small yellow Pokémon waddled into the room. Its tiny round face wore an expression of confusion, and its long pointy ears and jagged yellow-and-brown tail were twitching. Its red cheeks seemed to be glowing slightly.

"Ash, meet Pikachu!" Professor Oak said, standing back up. "It's an Electric-type Pokémon. I caught him for observation in the Viridian Forest, but if you want him, he's yours."

Ash knelt down to get a better look at Pikachu. It didn't seem to want to make eye contact with him.

 _Well,_ he thought, _he does look kinda cool. And it's better than waiting a week, after all…_

"What the heck," Ash said, "I'll take him! Thanks, Professor!"

He scooped up Pikachu and held it in his arms, giving it a little squeeze. "So," he said, "I guess you and me are buddies now, huh?"

For a split second, Ash felt his hair stand on end. Pikachu's eyes narrowed dangerously.

KA-ZAP.

Pikachu leapt onto the table as Ash crumpled backwards onto the floor, his muscles seizing, the edges of his clothes smoldering. He'd never been electrocuted that badly before; it felt like he'd just been set on fire.

Oak winced at the sight. "Oh yes, I meant to tell you, watch out for that...Pikachu can be a little moody sometimes. This one doesn't like being confined in a Poké Ball, and, uh...well, it hates being touched."

Ash got gingerly back to his feet, his extremities still tingling with electricity. "Thanks, Professor," he rasped, "I'll try to keep that in mind…"

Pikachu sniffed derisively at Ash, then turned its back to him. Ash instinctively reached out to try and pet him, then realized that probably wouldn't work.

"Oh, and there's a few more things you'll need," Oak said, opening a drawer on his desk. He withdrew five small Poké Balls and a red handheld computer. "Some Poké Balls to get you started on capturing. And this here is my prized invention, the Pokédex! I took the liberty of pre-registering it in your name. This little computer contains everything you could ever want to know about every species of Pokémon you'll find in the Kanto region. Anytime you encounter a Pokémon you've never seen, just look it up in here, and it'll tell you what you need."

Ash pocketed these items, but in the back of his mind, he couldn't fathom wasting all that time looking stuff up. Not when he could learn just as easily from being out there in the wilderness, meeting Pokémon face to face. "Thanks, Professor," he said anyway.

"Well, I guess that's it, then!" Professor Oak beamed. "This is where your journey begins, Ash. Head north up Route 1 towards Viridian City, and you should be on your way. Best of luck to you and Pikachu. And remember, if you've ever got any questions, don't hesitate to get in touch!"

An elated sensation began to swell in Ash's stomach. The day hadn't started quite as planned, but this was it - he was going to travel the world as a real, honest-to-goodness Pokémon trainer!

"Thanks again, Professor Oak!" he said proudly. "And don't worry, next time you see me, I'm gonna be the Pokémon League Champion!" He turned towards the exit. "C'mon, Pikachu!"

He got several steps towards the door before he realized Pikachu hadn't budged. It sat resolutely on the table and stuck its tongue out at Ash, its cheeks sparking.

Oak grinned awkwardly. "Well," he chuckled, "even champions have to start somewhere…"

* * *

Ash hadn't really given much thought to which Pokémon he'd wanted to start with. The Fire-type Charmander would probably have been the coolest, since he knew it eventually evolved into something that looked like a dragon, and there was no way that couldn't be awesome. The Water-type Squirtle would've been okay too, though a Grass-type like Bulbasaur seemed like it would've had its advantages as well. Any of them would've made fine traveling companions, he thought.

This Pikachu, however, was not at all what he'd had in mind.

The two of them were barely out of Pallet Town, just about half a mile into the foliage off Route 1, when Pikachu decided it'd had enough. It was now laying spread-eagle on the dirt path, pouting up at the sky, refusing to budge another inch.

Ash sighed in frustration. "Pikachu, enough of this, all right? We gotta get to Viridian City before sundown and we're already late as it is!"

Pikachu snorted and rolled over onto its stomach, sticking its tail up in the air.

"Come on!" Ash snapped. "Enough laying around! What are you, tired? You wanna sit on my shoulder or something?"

He bent down to pick Pikachu up.  
Instantaneously, 10,000 volts shot through his body again. Ash stumbled backwards, crumpling against a tree trunk. Struggling to catch his breath, he could have sworn he heard Pikachu laughing.

Blood boiled in Ash's temples. He wasn't going to spend his whole first day as a trainer on this route. "All right, you little brat," he snarled, unhooking one of the empty Poké Balls from its clip on his belt, "let's get one thing straight here - I'm your trainer, all right? Whether you like it or not! And you're my Pokémon, and that means you're going in a Poké Ball, now!"

He pressed the button on the seam of the ball, and a red beam of energy shot out at Pikachu.

With surprising agility, Pikachu leapt into the air. The energy beam hit the ground and plowed up a small puff of dust before vanishing.

"Hey!" Ash yelped. "You heard what I said! Come back here!" He gritted his teeth and hurled the Poké Ball at Pikachu with all his might.

Pikachu swung one of its stubby little arms around and spiked the Poké Ball back at Ash like a volleyball. It nailed Ash straight between the eyes, and he landed flat on his behind, clunking his head against the tree trunk again.

Blinking the stars away from his vision, Ash saw Pikachu doubled over in the tall grass, laughing itself silly. He sighed again.

"Pikachu, why don't you like me? I mean, jeez, I'm trying to be nice, I don't get why -"

He stopped short as a strange robotic-sounding voice interrupted him.

" _ **Pokédex activated. This device is registered to Ash Ketchum. Hometown: Pallet Town. Date of birth: April 1, 1986…"**_

Ash whirled around. His Pokédex had fallen out of his jacket pocket and opened when it hit the ground. Its screen displayed a photograph of his own face.

The odd mechanical voice continued. " _ **Trainer identification number: 01301…"**_

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Ash muttered, picking up the tiny computer. He jabbed random buttons, trying to get it to shut off. His registration screen blinked away - but something else replaced it. A picture of a small brown bird Pokémon he'd seen many times before in his life.

" _ **Pidgey, the Tiny Bird Pokémon. It does not like to fight. It hides in tall grass and so on, foraging for food such as small bugs. A common sight in forests and woods, it flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand."**_

Ash glanced up. Sure enough, there was a Pidgey, hopping around in the tall grass and pecking diligently at the dirt. Either it didn't know it had been spotted, or it didn't care.

A small fire seemed to ignite in Ash's gut. Finally, an opportunity to capture his first wild Pokémon!

"All right, Pikachu, enough standing around! Let's work together and do this! Attack that Pidgey!"

Ash spun to face Pikachu, beaming. His smile vanished like smoke when he saw Pikachu flopped back on the ground again, picking at blades of grass.

" _Pikachu!_ " Ash bellowed. "Will you quit screwing around and get over here? I need your help!"

Pikachu glared at Ash, sparks flying from its cheeks again.

"Uh...right," Ash gulped. "Okay, you know what? Be like that. Maybe I don't need your help - I can catch this little guy all on my own!"

Keeping one eye on the Pidgey, Ash dropped his backpack and took off his coat, holding it in front of him like a net. Slowly, gently, he crept up behind the bird as it kept digging for bugs. He knew he could do this, as long as he kept his cool. As long as he maintained an element of surprise…

"YAAAH!" he screamed, lunging. The Pidgey only had time to squawk in alarm as Ash landed on top of it, struggling to keep the squirming terrified Pokémon trapped under his coat. "Oh no you don't, Feathers, you're not gettin' away that easy! No Pokémon can outsmart Ash Ketchum!"

He let go of one edge of the coat, fumbling toward his waist for a Poké Ball. In the two seconds it took, Pidgey flailed back into the open, its feathers askew, looking very put out. Before Ash could lunge again, it began flapping its short little wings, blowing up a surprisingly powerful dust cloud that rudely invaded Ash's eyes and throat.

Coughing like mad, Ash waved away the cloud frantically. He squinted through his dusty tears enough to see Pidgey flying away towards the treetops. His heart sank.

Pikachu was positively rolling with laughter, pounding the ground voraciously. Ash's eyes narrowed at his disobedient companion. "Oh yeah, laugh it up, Sparky," he snarled, "If you 'n me don't start working together, you realize we're never gonna get off this stupid route!"

As Ash tugged his jacket back on, a rustling sound caught his ear. He turned to where he'd dropped his backpack. Something with a long purple tail was rummaging through it.

"Hey!" Ash shouted. "Get outta there! That's not yours!"

A tiny rat-like Pokémon poked its head out of the backpack. It had one of Ash's bags of chips clamped between its buck teeth.

The Pokédex lay on the ground next to the backpack. " _ **Rattata,"**_ it squawked. " _ **The Rat Pokémon. Its fangs are long and very sharp. They grow continuously-"**_

"Put a sock in it, I know what it is!" Ash said. He raised a fist in an effort to look threatening. "Drop the food, pal, before I punt you clean over Mt. Silver!"

The Rattata darted out of the backpack, chip bag still clutched tight in its mouth. Ash bolted after it. "Get back here, you li'l vermin!" he called. "Pikachu, will you get off your lightning bolt butt and help me already?!"

Pikachu had its hands over its face, laughing harder than ever.

Ash made a grab for Rattata. It dropped the bag, but scampered up Ash's arm instead. "What the heck?" Ash squeaked. "Get off me, you crazy -"  
CRUNCH.

Ash yelped in pain and clutched his ear. Rattata leapt from Ash's shoulder and scampered away into the grass.

Gingerly massaging the fresh bite mark on his earlobe, Ash stormed back to the tree, fuming. He shoved his Pokédex back in his pocket, tossed his backpack over one shoulder, then rounded on his still giggling Pikachu, face flushed with anger.

"Look!" he barked as Pikachu snickered. "I don't know what your deal is, all right? I don't know why you wanna make this so difficult! I am TRYING to be nice, you understand me? You're my starter Pokémon! We're gonna be spending the rest of this journey together, so you 'n me had darn well better learn to get along! You got that?"

Pikachu stood up and blew what was unmistakably a raspberry.

"FINE!" Ash shrieked. "I gave you your chance! You wanna go back to Professor Oak, go ahead! You tell him from me that I don't need a Pokémon who won't respect me! I can manage this without you!"

Despite the furious pulse pounding in his ears, Ash caught the sound of flapping wings behind him. So the Pidgey was back, then. Well, Pikachu or not, Ash was not about to let another Pokémon escape him.

He knelt down and picked up the biggest rock he could find. If he couldn't weaken Pokémon in battle, a hit upside the head would have to do…

"Hey Pidgey!" he shouted, hurling the rock with all his might. "Eat dirt, you little feathery moron!"

WHACK.

"Yeah!" Ash whooped as the rock collided with the bird's skull. "A direct hit!"

But then Ash looked closer.

It wasn't a Pidgey he'd just hit. And he hadn't knocked it unconscious either. It was a totally different species of bird Pokémon, and its scowling face suggested that it was less than pleased.

"Oh…" Ash gulped, flicking his Pokédex back open with one trembling hand.

" _ **Spearow. The Tiny Bird Pokémon. It has to flap its short wings at high speed to stay airborne. Even though it is frail, it can be a tough foe that attacks viciously with its talons and beak. WARNING: This species can become hostile. Approach with caution."**_

Stowing the Pokédex, Ash slowly began to back away as the Spearow locked its flaming eyes on his. "Okay, then," Ash stammered, "I, uh...I guess we'll just be, uh, heading out, then…"

With a piercing shriek, the Spearow was in the air. Ash dropped to the ground, arms over his head, heart racing. He felt the talons scrape his body like needles. A beak tore at his clothes, trying to rip holes in him. Feathers flew. More shrieking cut the air. Ash winced as the pain shot through him, over and over…

And suddenly it stopped. Ash was too scared to stand up. But now there were other sounds among the Spearow's earsplitting cries. Sounds of suffering…

Ash opened one eye and gasped.

The Spearow had rounded on Pikachu. Sparks shot out at Pikachu struggled with the bird, clearly overpowered. Spearow clawed and pecked viciously, aiming to destroy…

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

Ash lunged, ripping Spearow off Pikachu with his bare hands. The bird flopped on the ground, then turned a livid eye to Ash. In an instant, it was in the air again, beating its wings about Ash's face as it tried to claw his eyes out.

Ash flailed, knocking Spearow away. Rolling to the edge of the tree, he snatched up a fallen branch with both hands. Spearow flew at him, talons outstretched, glinting…

WHOCK.

The branch connected, sending Spearow tumbling through the air like a feathery baseball. It somersaulted, then righted itself and soared into a nearby grove of trees, weaving dizzily.

Panting, Ash threw the branch aside and dropped to his knees. Pikachu lay motionless on the ground - not spread-eagle as before, but in a limp ball, its ears twitching feebly. Gashes covered its tiny round body. Its breath came in raspy spurts.

"Pikachu…"

Icy panic seized Ash's chest. The ground swayed, or maybe it just felt like it, but Ash gripped the dirt for support, his fingers trembling. Tears were running uncontrollably down his cheeks.

 _He's gonna die. He's gonna die and it's all my fault. I killed my only Pokémon…_

Ash tried to steady his breathing. Now was not the time to lose focus. There was still hope. There was a Pokémon Center in Viridian City, just a few miles away. If he could get there in time, they could heal Pikachu's injuries.

If he could get there in time…

Gently, Ash picked the wounded Pikachu off the ground, cradling it like a baby. "Just hold on, Pikachu," he whimpered. "You're gonna be okay, I promise! You're gonna be okay!"

And then he gasped again as he heard it.

Squawking. Lots of it.

He looked skyward and screamed.

An entire flock of Spearow, at least three dozen strong, was bearing down on the two of them, their tiny wings beating like machines. Right at the head of the flock was the ruffled Spearow Ash had attacked. It had called its entire colony for reinforcements.

One word shrieked in Ash's brain: _RUN._

Ash had never moved so fast in his life. Clutching Pikachu to his heart, he charged into the tall grass, hoping against everything that he could outrun the birds. He could hear them getting closer; he didn't dare look behind him to see how close.

The grass got taller. Razor-sharp weeds slashed his face like whips, but he didn't care. The squawking echoed in his ears, egging him on, pushing his legs faster, faster…

And before he could react, the ground ended.

Ash's eyes had a split second to register the river at the bottom of the ravine as he fell. Then a shock of icy cold rushed over him. He was underwater.

The current was stunningly strong. Bubbles trailed from Ash's nose as he clutched Pikachu tighter to him with one arm, attempting to swim with the other. It was no good. The water tossed him like a rag doll. He could feel his hip scrape the river bottom, stirring a cloud of silt.

A huge burst of bubbles exploded from Ash's mouth as he desperately tried to right himself. His lungs burned for air…

Finally, his head broke the surface. Holding Pikachu high above him, he barely had time to breathe before the river enveloped him again. He gurgled futilely as the water fought its way into his mouth.

He had no idea how far the current carried him. It was a horrible struggle, keeping his own face and Pikachu's damaged body above water before the river pulled them both down again.

As he submerged, memories flashed in Ash's mind. The Pokémon he'd seen in the yard as a young boy...the first league match he watched on TV...running out the door that very morning, not even stopping to kiss his mother goodbye…

She'd never see him again. Nobody would. This river would be the end of the great Ash Ketchum, before his journey could even truly begin…

Ash burbled as his head collided with something soft. A second later, a grip tightened on his arm, and he was above water.

Heaving in a lungful of air, he hoisted Pikachu above the current again. Thankfully, his Pokémon still appeared to be breathing. Then a voice met his ears.

"Watch where you're going, kid! And it's kind of stupid to be swimming in your clothes, isn't it?"

Ash blinked the water out of his eyes. He'd been carried smack-dab into the body of a girl wearing a red-and-white two-piece swimsuit. Her short red hair was plastered to the sides of her head, and even through her swimming goggles, he could tell she looked ticked off as she treaded water. On either side of her floated two starfish-like Pokémon - one brown, with a blue jewel in its center, the other purple with a pink jewel and twice as many appendages.

The girl kicked, dragging Ash and Pikachu towards the riverbank. "And your backpack, too?" she jeered. "Man, I don't know what you're up to, buddy, but next time, you wanna keep an eye out for other trainers before you plow headfirst into 'em? The whole reason I was training out here is 'cause it's supposed to be nice and quiet!"

Ash flopped onto the bank, panting heavily, dirt sticking to his soaked clothes. Pikachu twitched in his arms. "I can't…" he gasped. "I can't...stay here…"

The girl stood up, lifting her goggles onto her forehead. She gasped herself when she saw Pikachu. "Oh, you poor thing!" she yelped. "Are you hurt?"

Ash coughed up a bit of water. "I'm fine, I think…"

SLAP.

"I wasn't talking to _you_ , you weirdo!" the girl shrieked, as Ash massaged the fresh sore spot on his cheek. "I meant your Pikachu! Look at the poor guy, it looks like it's been beaten half to death!" Her eyes flashed dangerously. "Did you do this to him, you freak? You know what I do to people who beat their Pokémon?!"

The girl's two starfish Pokémon leapt out of the water, clearly ready for a fight.

Ash struggled to sit up. "I didn't do this to him!" he wheezed. "It was the Spearow!"

"What Spearow?" the girl asked, looking skeptical.

But Ash's eyes widened as he heard it. The cawing in the distance. He looked up - the Spearow flock was drawing closer. They'd followed him downstream!

"Those Spearow!" he bellowed, leaping to his feet. He cradled Pikachu closer as his eyes darted around. He noticed a red bicycle leaning against a tree. "Listen, I gotta get to Viridian City, can I borrow your bike?"

The girl looked like she'd been struck. "My bike?! What makes you think I'd -"

"Thanks!" Ash interrupted, and in one quick hop, he swung his legs over the seat and kicked off, pedaling up the road northward, still clutching Pikachu to his chest like his life depended on it.

"HEY!" the girl screamed after him. "Come back with my bike, you thief! I'm gonna -"

But the rest of her threat was drowned out as the Spearow came sailing down out of the sky, following Ash into the tree cover.

Ash's legs screamed for him to stop, but he couldn't. Pedaling harder, he was finally managing to put some distance between himself and the flock. Pikachu bounced in the basket on the front of the handlebars, still too weak to move.

The path sloped uphill. Ash strained against gravity, forcing himself to keep going, the straps of his backpack cutting into his tired shoulders. Over the breach, through the trees, he could make out the Viridian City skyline in the distance. He was almost there. It was literally all downhill from here…

He didn't see the tree root until it was too late.

The bike tumbled end over end, depositing Ash face first in the dirt. Pikachu sailed out of the basket and landed splayed on the ground, still twitching. The Pokédex flew from Ash's coat pocket again, springing open as it hit the path.

Gasping for air, Ash hoisted himself up. The Spearow were closing in, their talons outstretched. The din of their squawking practically shook the leaves on the trees.

Ash looked back at Pikachu, motionless on the ground.

Then, bruised and battered, mustering every ounce of strength he had left, he got to his feet.

" _YOU LEAVE MY PIKACHU ALONE!"_ he bellowed, voice cracking under the strain, as the birds beared down on him. " _YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I'M ASH KETCHUM! I'M GONNA BE THE NEXT POKÉMON LEAGUE CHAMPION! AND NOBODY HURTS MY POKÉMON AND GETS AWAY WITH IT! YOU WANT MY PIKACHU? YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME!"_

He stretched out his arms and grimaced, bracing himself for the impact of beaks and talons, ready to be torn apart…

He sensed movement behind him.

Pressure on his shoulder, as if something had just leapt from him.

And then the air itself exploded, as Pikachu's Thundershock attack ripped through the flock of Spearow, lighting up the forest like a supernova. Ash flew backwards from the shockwave of the lightning bolt, smacking his head on the ground. Just as suddenly, everything went black…

* * *

Ash didn't know how long he'd been unconscious for. He blinked up at an orange sky. The sun was setting.

Every muscle ached. He slowly pushed himself to a sitting position and looked around. The Spearow were long gone. Scorch marks emblazoned every tree around him. The girl's bike lay several yards away, its front wheel bent, the frame reduced to a charred and twisted mess.

And there was Pikachu, lying at Ash's side, still beaten and scratched, but looking hopefully up at his trainer. It reached out a stubby hand towards him.

Ash gulped. "Pikachu…"

He gently picked up his injured partner and held him close. "Thanks, buddy," he said softly. "C'mon, let's get you to a Pokémon Center…"

He moved to stand up. But the soft sound of beating wings caught his ear.

His blood ran cold. _Oh, please, no,_ he thought. _Don't let them be back…_

But it wasn't the Spearow.

Ash's jaw dropped as he looked skyward and saw it. A huge majestic golden bird, soaring gracefully above the treetops. Its magnificent plumage and massive tailfeathers seemed to shimmer. The air around it was almost refracted, creating what could've been a rainbow.

Ash was speechless. He'd never seen a Pokémon that looked like this before.

Almost as if it'd read his mind, the Pokédex flickered to life. " _ **No data available,"**_ it reported. " _ **Pokémon species unknown. An upgrade may be required to identify non-regional Pokémon species."**_

Still clutching Pikachu, Ash fumbled for the Pokédex with his free hand as he kept his eyes fixed on the great bird. Finally, it disappeared over the tree line, heading westward toward the setting sun.

Ash sat there for a moment, blown away by the majesty of what he'd just seen. He wasn't sure why, especially after everything that had happened to him today, but somehow he felt like the bird was a good omen. That somehow, from now on, everything would be okay…

Cradling Pikachu to his shoulder, Ash stood up, his legs still slightly wobbly, as they made their way up the path to Viridian City. It hadn't been a great first day of his Pokémon journey...but then again, it wasn't over yet.


	2. Attack on the Pokémon Center

Angry as she was, Misty couldn't help worrying about that kid.

She absentmindedly toweled the last of the dampness out of her short red hair, back in its signature side ponytail, as she worked her way up the dirt path towards Viridian City. The boy said he was heading this way before he took off on her bicycle. Didn't even wait for her permission first, the lousy thief…

 _No, that's not really fair,_ she thought, hoisting her backpack strap onto the loop of her red tank top so it wouldn't cut into her shoulder. _Those Spearow were gonna chase him down to death. You know how vicious they can be._

Up over the top of the hill, the twilit Viridian City skyline came into view, lights twinkling in the windows of countless buildings. Misty sighed as she descended the slope, lost in thought, glancing up at the trees.

 _Just so long as he brings my bike back,_ she mused. _I feel kinda bad for him, out in the wilderness, harassed by wild Pokémon...probably in over his head, the poor -_

Her reverie ended abruptly as her foot snagged the tree root.

Misty's face met the ground. Rubbing her sore nose, she pushed herself up - and nearly screamed from the shock.

It was a twisted, melted chunk of aluminum now, but it was still unmistakably her bicycle. Left abandoned on the path, surrounded by a humongous scorch mark. It looked like it had been struck by lightning.

 _Never mind,_ Misty thought, her hands balling into trembling fists. _I'm gonna murder him._

* * *

The stars had begun to pop in the deep indigo sky over the suburbs of Viridian City. Not that Ash had the time to admire them. He still had a severely injured Pikachu to worry about.

Unfortunately, he had no idea where the nearest Pokémon Center was. It occurred to him that a map probably would've been a helpful thing to pack that morning.

Ash stood on the corner of a four-way intersection and looked around, biting his lip. It was all residential houses around here. The Pokémon Center would probably be in the heart of the city. But he didn't have time to waste - that Thundershock attack had knocked the wind out of Pikachu, and he needed help now…

Finally, he spotted them. A pair of police cars parked by a street lamp, and a blue-uniformed policewoman standing next to a white motorcycle, jotting something down in a tiny notebook.

Ash broke into a run, clutching Pikachu close. "Officer!" he called. "I need to get to the Pokémon Center! Can you give me a hand?"

The policewoman looked up and frowned. "Whoa, hold on there, sonny," she said sternly. "Let me see your trainer identification first."

Slightly taken aback, Ash pulled out his Pokédex with his free hand. "Uh, sure, here you go…"

The officer's eyes narrowed as she scanned the Pokédex screen. "Ash Ketchum...Pallet Town…" She handed the computer back to him. "All right, this checks out. Sorry about that, it's just we've had to be on high alert lately. There's been a rash of Pokémon thefts in the area."

Ash's eyes widened. "Pokémon thefts?"

"Yeah," the policewoman sighed, stowing her notepad, "we suspect it's agents of Team Rocket. And you can never be too careful when you're dealing with them - masters of stealth and all that."

Team Rocket. That name sounded familiar. Ash had heard them mentioned on the news before - not that he paid much attention to the news, but he knew they were some sort of organized crime group. He didn't know they stole Pokémon, though. Just the thought that there were people out there who were willing to take other people's Pokémon companions from them...it was enough to turn his stomach…

"Hey, kid, you said you need to get to the Pokémon Center?"

Ash snapped out of his interlude. The policewoman was sitting astride her motorcycle. "Hop on," she said with a hint of a smile. "I'll give you a lift."

"Oh!" Ash said, climbing aboard and trying his best to keep Pikachu comforted against him. "Yeah, thanks…"

And with the roar of the engines, they were off.

* * *

No one thought it was terribly unusual. A hot air balloon in the shape of a Meowth. Perhaps it was up there to advertise some new Pokémon product or something. A little odd to have it flying in the early evening and not the day, but whatever.

The citizens of Viridian City had no clue what it really meant.

"Wow, the view from up here is pretty wild, isn't it, Jessie? Look at how close Mt. Silver looks!"

Jessie leaned against the edge of the basket and ran a frustrated hand over her face at these words. Her partner James always managed to wreck the moment with stupid stuff like that.

"There'll be time to admire the view later, James!" she snapped. "We've got more important things to think about now. You realize every other Team Rocket agent in the area has pulled off a theft this week? We've got some serious catching up to do!"

James brushed his blue hair out of his eyes. "I know, I know," he insisted. "I just think better when I have something pretty to look at."

Jessie huffed importantly. "If you want to look at something pretty, I'll have to do," she said with a smirk. She delicately ran her fingers through her long red hair, which swooped straight out behind her head like a comet. "You keep getting distracted by the simplest things when you've got unmatchable beauty right in front of you!"

In the corner of the basket, a small tan Pokémon made a noise that sounded like trying to stifle a laugh.

Jessie's eyes flashed. "You wanna say something, Meowth, you can say it to the group!"

Meowth stood up on his hind paws, scratching his cheek with one extended claw.

"Ah, you know me, Jessie," he spoke. "I've never really been the chatty type-nya."

James held up a brown sack full of empty Poké Balls. "Okay, well, we've got all these and no plan. And all the other agents in our sector are making us look bad in front of the boss. We gotta do something to catch up to them…"

Jessie glanced out at the buildings below. They were over one of Viridian City's many parks, laden with just-blooming cherry blossom trees. Off in the distance was the business district. One building in particular stood out among the glowing skyline.

"Isn't it obvious?" she grinned. "We'll just knock over the Pokémon Center. Where else in this city would you find more Pokémon all in one place?"

James' face practically lit up. "Of course! Jessie, you're a genius!"

"Don't encourage her-nya," Meowth jeered. "We'll never hear the end of it."

* * *

The motorcycle screeched to a stop in front of a large two-story building, lit so brightly against the night sky that it might as well have still been midday. Words set in metal shimmered over the entrance: VIRIDIAN CITY POKÉMON CENTER.

"Here ya go, kid," the policewoman said as Ash disembarked. "The nurse at the front desk will get that Pikachu of yours healed up quick. And hey," she added, with a tip of her hat, "Take good care of yourself and your Pokémon, all right? It can be dangerous out there."

That seemed like a redundant thing to say at this point, Ash thought, as the officer sped off into the night. But he didn't have time to dwell on it - Pikachu was still weak, and sparks were beginning to shoot from its cheeks at odd intervals. Breathing heavily, Ash booked it up the stone steps toward the Pokémon Center entrance. The sleek glass doors slid open automatically as he approached them.

The atrium was massive, with long rows of benches and several vending machines, but a surprising lack of trainers. At the reception desk stood a nurse in a pink uniform, accompanied by a round and equally pink Pokémon.

"Good evening!" the nurse beamed. "Welcome to our Pokémon Center! Shall we heal your Pokémon?"

"Yes, please!" Ash panted desperately, gently laying Pikachu on the counter. "He's in really bad shape! We had a fight with a bunch of Spearow, and then we fell off a cliff…"

The nurse's smile vanished as soon as she saw Pikachu's injuries. "Oh dear," she muttered, "look at the poor thing...Chansey, wheel the gurney around. I'll notify the intensive care unit."

The pink Pokémon nodded, waddling around to the front of the desk with a small padded gurney.

Ash rubbed his shoulder anxiously as the nurse carefully laid Pikachu on the mattress. "He's not…" he began, but the words caught in his throat. "He's not gonna…"

"Oh no, he'll be fine, honey," the nurse reassured, putting a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Don't you worry about that, okay? But it will take a few hours before he's back to full health. Do you wanna sit out here in the waiting room? Or if you like, we have lodging upstairs, you could spend the night - your Pikachu should be fine by morning."

Ash glanced over at the plastic benches. "No, that's okay, I'll just wait out here. You, uh...you do whatever you gotta do to heal him…"

And as the nurse and her Chansey disappeared through the swinging double doors, Ash slumped onto a bench with a long low sigh. He ran both hands aggressively over his face.

A television hung from a mount on the wall opposite him, but he didn't care what was on. He pushed a newspaper off the seat next to him and laid down, staring up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the lead-like feeling of his insides. His eyes felt hot and tingly. It was all beginning to overwhelm him...

 _I'm the worst Pokémon trainer in the world,_ he thought. He didn't want to, but he couldn't help it.

Did any of the other trainers who left Pallet Town that morning have such unbelievably bad luck as him? They probably didn't tick off an entire flock of wild Spearow and almost get their starter Pokémon killed. He knew Gary certainly didn't. Heck, Gary was probably halfway to Pewter City by now, with about ten Pokémon and an evolved starter. Ash would never catch up. He'd never be as great as he always wanted to be…

If only he had someone to talk to.

He looked up. There was a video phone in the corner near the entrance.

Ash hoisted himself to his feet and walked what felt like a mile to the phone. Fishing in his pocket, he was relieved to find that what little money he'd left the house with hadn't been washed away in the river. He dropped a 50-yen coin into the slot and dialed his own phone number.

After a few rings, the screen lit up with the welcome sight of Ash's mother, standing in the kitchen.

"Ash!" she chirped. "There you are! How's your Pokémon journey going?"

Ash swallowed. "Hi, mom," he muttered. "It's going fine...I, uh, made it to Viridian City."

Mrs. Ketchum smiled widely. "Oh, I'm so proud of you, honey, off on your big Pokémon adventure! Tell me, were you able to make it to Professor Oak's lab alright? Which starter did you end up choosing?"

"Uh..." Ash glanced down at his feet. "They were all out of the regular ones. The professor gave me a Pikachu instead."

"Ooh, a Pikachu? Gosh, they're so cute! Is he there? I want to see him!"

Ash's eyes darted towards the front desk. "He's, um, he's getting healed right now."

Mrs. Ketchum nodded. "Well, that's good, always want to keep your Pokémon at full health, just to be safe. How are you two getting along?"

Ash gulped again. "Well...a bit better now than we were this morning, I guess…"

An uncomfortable pause set in.

"Ash, what's wrong?"

Ash tried to tug the brim of his hat lower. "Nothing's wrong, Mom."

"Don't give me 'nothing's wrong', Ash, I'm your mother, I can always tell. C'mon, what is it?"

The tears were on the brink of Ash's eyes.

"Everything."

And it all came pouring out of him, the harrowing tale of his first disastrous day. Gary taunting him, Pikachu not obeying him, the wild Pokémon he couldn't catch, the frightening Spearow attack, the escapade in the river…

"...And now Pikachu's in the ICU and he's all beat up and weak and he almost died, Mom, and it was all my fault! I almost killed him, Mom! I'm a terrible Pokémon trainer…"

Mrs. Ketchum put a hand over her mouth as her son sniffed pathetically, hanging his head in shame.

"You're not terrible, Ash," she said gently. "After all, it's only your first day. Lots of young trainers struggle when they first start out, you know? And besides, look at all that you did accomplish - you made it all the way to Viridian City! And it sounds like your Pikachu is really grateful to you for saving it the way you did. You've done some great things today, Ash."

Ash wiped his nose with the back of his arm. "But what about all the stuff I screwed up?"

Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "Well, that's how you learn, isn't it? I mean, now you know better than to throw rocks at wild Pokémon, don't you? Valuable life advice, I'd say."

Ash looked up at the screen and sniffled again.

"Don't beat yourself up so much, Ash," his mom continued. "It's only day one, you've got the whole rest of your journey ahead of you. You're gonna do great things, I'm sure of it - you're gonna be my little champion, y'know? Just remember, I'm so very proud of you."

Another pause.

Mrs. Ketchum blinked. "And I know your father would be proud of you too."

The stinging in Ash's eyes seemed to intensify.

"You mean that, Mom?" he gulped.

She nodded again. "Absolutely, I mean that. He was a fantastic Pokémon trainer himself...if he could see you now, he'd be positively busting."

Ash tried his best to rub the tears out of his eyes. It wasn't often that his mom brought up his father…

Instantly, Ash flashed back to the river again. How he'd almost drowned right then and there, where no one might ever have found him.

"I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye this morning, Mom," Ash choked. "I shouldn't have been in such a hurry…"

Mrs. Ketchum gave a sympathetic smile, "It's okay, Ash. I know how much this means to you. Just, y'know...be careful out there while you're becoming a champion, okay?"

Tears were streaming down Ash's face now. He'd given up on trying to stop them.

"Okay, Mom," he said, as he finally smiled for the first time today.

"Now, you just get some rest while the doctors heal your Pikachu, okay?" Mrs. Ketchum said softly. "And don't forget to call when you get to Pewter City too." She waved cheerfully. "I love you, honey."

Ash sniffed. "Love you too, Mom. Good night…"

As he hung the receiver back up, the screen went blank. He sat back in the chair and sighed. The weight in his stomach seemed to have gotten lighter.

His eyes wandered up to the mural that decorated the atrium wall. A golden sky, depicting a trio of legendary bird Pokémon - one ice-blue, one yellow with jagged lightning-like wings, and an orange one that seemed to be made of flame…

Ash's stomach jolted as the memory popped back to the front of his mind. The bird Pokémon he'd seen in the sky just hours ago. He still didn't know what it was…

But he had a feeling he knew who would.

Plunking a second 50-yen piece into the phone, he quickly dialed another familiar number.

"Good evening, Pallet Town Pokémon Research," said Professor Oak. Then, upon recognizing the face: "Ash! Good to hear from you! How's the journey going?"

Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, not bad. I'm at the Viridian Pokémon Center, Pikachu's getting healed right now. But hey, Professor, I wanted to ask you a question."

"Ask away, my boy, that's what I'm here for," Oak grinned. He appeared to be in a kitchen too; he was holding a wooden spoon, and there was a pot of what looked like ramen boiling away on a stove behind him.

"Well," Ash said, "when I was on Route 1 earlier today, I saw this weird bird Pokémon in the sky. It didn't look like anything I'd seen before. It was like an orange-ish-red color, with these shiny gold feathers on its head and tail. And, uh, I don't know if it helps, but it was sort of, like... _refracting_ the air around it, if that makes sense? It seemed to make a rainbow, like those little prism things you hang in windows?" He cleared his throat. "Does that sound like any Pokémon you've ever seen?"

Professor Oak's eyes widened as he lowered the spoon.

"Ash...you're sure that's the Pokémon you saw?"

Ash got closer to the screen. "Yeah, sure I'm sure. Why, what's wrong?"

"I'll be right back," Oak said hastily, and he ran off, leaving only the bubbling pot visible on screen. About a minute later, he returned, carrying a large and rather old-looking leather-bound book. Ash could just make out the gilded title: _Ancient History of the Johto Region._

Oak's brow was furrowed as he held the book up to the camera. "Tell me, Ash, and this is very important," he said quickly. "Is _this_ the Pokémon you saw?"

Ash studied the illustration in the book. It was an ancient woodblock print, showing a pair of pagoda-like buildings. One was on fire. Above the other, a large bird Pokémon was taking to the sky, seemingly crying out in pain. Thunderbolts rained down around it.

"Yeah," Ash muttered. "Yeah, that's the one! What is it, Professor?"

Oak put a hand to his head and gripped a chair with his other hand. A strange expression crossed his face - disbelief? Euphoria?

"This is incredible!" he laughed. "No one's confirmed a sighting of it before! Not for over a century!" He turned back to the camera. "Ash, based on your description, what you saw was a legendary Pokémon! It's been said to roam the skies over the Kanto and Johto regions, but it's so rare that almost no one has ever encountered it in person."

Ash's head began to spin. He had witnessed a legendary Pokémon in the wild? That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! Surely, Gary would never be able to top that feat…

"Wow!" Ash finally managed to spit out. "And you said it hasn't been seen in over a hundred years?"

"That's right," Oak continued. "According to legend, it reveals itself only to trainers that it feels are destined for greatness. Ash, this is a major biological event you've borne witness to!"

All of Ash's insides seemed to be inflating like a balloon. A thrilled smile was spreading uncontrollably across his face. "I'm destined for greatness?" he whispered.

If the legend was true, then it couldn't be argued. Legendary Pokémon were said to have some sort of mysterious connection with humans. Perhaps this one could see the future. Maybe it saw that the trainer who would beat the Indigo League was close by and wanted to get a good look at him.

All the aches in Ash's muscles seemed to have disappeared. He felt like he could've run to Pewter City, right then and there. Nothing could spoil his confidence now…

He heard the front doors slide open.

" _AHA! I THOUGHT I'D FIND YOU HERE!"_

Ash whirled around. There in the doorway, hunched like a Pokémon ready to maul, was the red-haired girl he'd borrowed the bicycle from. Her blotchy red face was twisted in a horrifying scowl. And in one hand, she was dragging the burned remains of her bike.

She threw the bike on the floor with an awful scraping sound. " _AND WHAT ARE YOU PLANNING TO DO ABOUT THIS, YOU STINKIN' THIEF?!"_

"Um, I gotta go, Professor," Ash said, hastily hanging up the phone. Then he got to his feet. "Look, first of all, let me just say it wasn't my fault…"

"Oh, sure it wasn't!" the girl bellowed, stomping up to Ash until she was an inch away from his face. "I bet it was all the Spearow's fault, wasn't it?"

"No, really, I-"

"You owe me a new bike, you stupid jerk!" she interrupted. "A _good_ one, too! You know how long it took me to save up for that?"

"C'mon, I just-"

"What kind of a person are you, anyway? You steal my bike right in front of me, then you set it on fire?! People like you need to be locked up!"

"Would you just-"

"I oughta sic my Pokémon on you, you little pustule! No, even better, I oughta just beat the snot outta you myself! That'd teach you better than to destroy other people's valuable property, you sniveling little-"

" _WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR FIVE SECONDS?!"_ Ash exploded.

The girl froze, scandalized.

"I didn't mean for your dumb bike to get blown up, all right?" Ash snapped, hands balling into fists. "Those Spearow were gonna kill us, okay? And Pikachu did an Electric attack that fried them all, and I guess it got your bike too, and I'm sorry for that, all right? But Pikachu's in the intensive care unit getting healed right now 'cause those Spearow nearly bit the stuffing out of him, and I'm waiting for him to recover, so if you'd just _calm down_ for a stinkin' minute, I would like to make sure my Pokémon is okay before I go worrying about replacing your stupid bike! Is that all right with you, Little Miss Hothead?"

The girl glared at Ash, her mouth a thin line of frustration. Finally, she sighed.

"Fine," she muttered, slumping onto one of the benches. She turned her back to Ash. "But the second that Pikachu of yours is all better, you 'n I are gonna hash this out, got it?"

Ash snorted. "Sympathetic, aren't you?"

* * *

The hours seemed to crawl. Midnight came and went. The red-haired girl had curled up on one of the benches, fast asleep, using her rolled-up towel as a makeshift pillow. The nurse from the front desk had asked Ash again if he'd like to book a room for the night, but he had firmly declined. He wasn't going to rest until he knew Pikachu was well again.

Everyone in the lobby had something on their mind. None of them thought to check what was going on outside.

"All right," Jessie whispered, hacking through the bushes at the edge of the Pokémon Center grounds, "let's go over this again once more, just so we're clear - we cut the power, we bust in, we demand all the Pokémon they've got, and then we're out of there. No fuss, no muss, got it?"

James nodded. "Sounds like a flawless plan. It was worth the six hours it took to think it up."

Meowth massaged his rumbling stomach. "Can we hit a vending machine while we're in there?" he meowed. "I haven't eaten since breakfast-nya."

"Priorities, Meowth," Jessie said. She gestured towards the large gray transformer box against the back eave of the building. "First order of business, we gotta shut the juice off. Which one of you knows anything about electricity?"

James shrugged. "I never went to engineering school..."

"Oh, for cryin' out loud, you amateurs," Meowth snarled. "I'll take care of this-nya!"

Extending one claw, Meowth quickly picked the lock on the transformer box. The cover swung open. He began fiddling with the switches inside.

"Really," he muttered, "the two of you couldn't even find your own Poké Balls with two hands and a map-"

The transformer box exploded in a shower of sparks. Trailing smoke, Meowth went sailing into the trees, yowling in pain. Every light on the building began to flicker violently.

"Nice job, Meowth!" said Jessie, patting her partner on the back. As he was facedown on the ground, it was the easiest part of him to reach. "You made that look easy!"

Meowth coughed up a small cloud of smoke. "Just glad to be part of the team-nya…" he wheezed.

* * *

Ash leapt to his feet as the room went dark.

"Uh-oh," said a voice. The nurse at the front desk. "I hope the backup generator still works…"

A faint hum kicked in somewhere, and several small emergency lights around the atrium blinked to life, tinting the darkened lobby a dull orange.

Ash darted to the desk. "What happened? Will they still be able to heal Pikachu?"

"It's okay, we're on backup power now," the nurse explained, though she looked concerned anyway. "But I don't know why the electricity went out. All the other buildings out there seem okay…"

Peering through the glass, Ash could see she was right. Every other building on the street still had power.

But there was something moving out there.

The front doors began shaking, as if someone were trying to force them open. Ash could hear voices coming from outside. "Stupid automatic doors...c'mon, open, you lousy son of a…"

The red-haired girl awoke from her spot on the bench. "Oh, for the love of - what now?" she griped.

CRASH.

The glass doors shattered, spraying shards across the floor. Seconds later, a tiny black ball flew in and exploded in a cloud of smoke that filled the room surprisingly quickly. Ash coughed, trying to wave the fog away. He could barely make out three silhouettes through the smoke - two people and what looked like a small Pokémon.

"Wh-what's that?" he coughed. "Who's there?"

The reply he got just confused him even further.

"Prepare for trouble!"  
"Make it double!"  
"To protect the world from devastation!"  
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"  
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"  
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"  
"Jessie!"  
"James!"  
"Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light!"  
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"  
"Meowth! That's right!"

The smoke cleared, revealing a man and a woman, both clad in white uniforms emblazoned with a bright red letter R on the chest. Ash had never seen people more bizarre - he couldn't decide who looked stranger, the man with his shoulder-length blue hair, or the woman whose cherry-red hair swooped about three feet straight out behind her head. At their feet was a cat Pokémon that Ash recognized as a Meowth, though he'd never known them to walk on their hind legs before.

The nurse gasped. "Team Rocket?" She reached under the desk, as if she were fumbling for something. "Please, don't hurt us! Whatever it is you want, we'll cooperate!"

Ash's blood ran cold. Team Rocket. The Pokémon thieves that the policewoman had mentioned. They were here, and they meant business. What if they tried to take his Pikachu?

The woman chuckled sinisterly. "Grovel all you want, sweetie, it won't save you. Now, to make matters easy, just hand over all the Pokémon you've got in this place, and we'll be on our merry way…"

"You guys aren't from Team Rocket!"

Every head turned. The red-haired girl was on her feet, looking the three thieves up and down skeptically.

"I've seen pictures of Team Rocket guys on the news, and they didn't look like you!" she shot coolly. "For one thing, Team Rocket's supposed to be stealthy, and you guys are about as stealthy as a Tauros in a vase shop."

The woman's lip curled dangerously. "Watch your mouth, brat!"

The girl didn't let up. "And Team Rocket wears black uniforms! What are you guys doing in white?"

"I'll have you know that we happen to be exceptionally special Team Rocket agents!" the man boomed, puffing out his chest. "Our boss has entrusted us with a mission of the highest importance and secrecy -"

"Shut up, James!" the woman snapped, smacking her partner upside the head. "I said let me do the talking!"

James rubbed his head gingerly. "C'mon, Jessie, this was supposed to be a quick job…"

Ash's head was spinning. Was this a stickup or some kind of sick comedy routine?

"Enough palling around, everyone!" Jessie shouted. She marched up to the reception desk. "You, Nursey, make with the Pokémon now! And _you!_ " She rounded on Ash, who instinctively put up his hands. "You look like a trainer! Hand over all your Pokémon too!"

Sweat began to itch under Ash's hat. "I, uh, I don't have any Pokémon on me…"

And then things got even stranger as the Meowth leapt over a bench and glared at Ash. "Ah, he's lying!" the Pokémon said. "You want me to frisk him-nya?"

The red-haired girl's eyes practically bugged out of her head. "It _talks?!_ " she squeaked.

Meowth slapped an exasperated paw to its forehead. "Yes, it talks! The Meowth talks, all right? Everywhere I go, I hear the same stupid smart remark-nya!"

Ash chuckled in spite of the situation. "Well, you've got to admit," he said, "it's not every day you see a talking Pokémon…"

" _Can we get back to the heist here, please?!_ " Meowth snarled, a vein popping in its forehead.

"All right, that does it!" James bellowed. "We've wasted enough time! If you won't give us your Pokémon, we'll be more than happy to fight you for 'em!"

With surprising agility, the red-haired girl leapt over the benches and landed between Ash and the three thieves. "Sorry, Mr. and Ms. Villain," she said with a smirk, "but if you're gonna fight anybody around here, it's going to be me."

Jessie squinted down her nose. "And you are?"

The girl tossed her ponytail in defiance. "I'm Misty, Water Pokémon trainer extraordinaire," she proclaimed. "And, I might add, the most beautiful girl in the Kanto region."

"Just as I thought, the poor girl's delirious," Jessie sneered, unhooking a Poké Ball from her waist. "But hey, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get. Go, Ekans!"

She heaved the ball into the air. It popped open, and in a flash of dazzling white light, a Pokémon appeared - a long purple snake with buggy yellow eyes. It hissed menacingly as it dropped to the floor in a coil.

"Staryu, let's do it!" Misty shouted, tossing a Poké Ball out of her backpack. There was the brown starfish Pokémon Ash had seen at the river. It flexed its appendages and crouched.

Jessie laughed. "And here I thought this was going to be hard! Ekans, Poison Sting!"

"Staryu!" Misty shouted. "Rapid Spin!"

Ekans reared back and spit out a mouthful of poisonous saliva. Staryu leapt into the air and spun wildly, deflecting the poison around the atrium like flecked paint. Ash dived behind the front desk, seeking cover with the frightened nurse.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Ash said nervously. "I feel like a sitting Farfetch'd without any Pokémon on me!"

"Don't worry, I pressed the silent alarm button as soon as they came in," the nurse whispered. "The cops will be here any minute! We just need to stall them - and I think your friend there has that covered pretty well!"

"Ekans, Leer!" The snake Pokémon's eyes flashed as it stared Staryu down.

Nothing seemed to happen.

Misty scoffed. "Not gonna work on a Pokémon with no eyes, genius! Staryu, Water Gun!"

A mighty jet of water exploded out of Staryu's topmost appendage, knocking Ekans into the wall so hard that it left cracks.

"You better put a rein on that smart mouth there, you little zit!" Jessie snarled. "James, don't just stand there like an idiot, help me out here!"

James leapt into action, looking a little sheepish. "Uh, right! Go, Koffing!"

Another Poké Ball into the air, and out came a purple-gray gas bag of a Pokémon, floating in midair with a dopey grin plastered on its face. Noxious gray smoke puffed out of the pores all over its body.

"What?!" Misty gulped. "Two against one? That's no fair!"

"Team Rocket never plays fair, snot-nose!" James shot back. "Koffing, Sludge!"

Koffing belched, and a great gob of black goop shot forth, sticking to Staryu's gem with a sickening splat. Staryu wiggled wildly, trying to shake off the gunk, but it didn't budge.

Jessie grinned devilishly. "Ekans, Bite!"

Ekans lunged and sunk its fangs into Staryu's fleshy body. Misty leapt back, biting her lip anxiously.

Ash couldn't stand by and let her get trounced like this. He had to do something! But in a Pokémon battle, he'd be useless without…

WHAM.

The swinging doors burst open, and Chansey wheeled out a gurney, upon which sat the very creature Ash was hoping to see - his Pikachu, completely free of injury, and looking brighter and more energetic than he had all day.

"Oh, look at that!" the nurse exclaimed. "Your Pikachu is all better!"

Ash's spirits soared. "Right on cue," he said, leaping to his feet. Pikachu scampered off the gurney and up Ash's arm, standing atop his head and glaring at the melee of a battle in the lobby.

"Hey, Misty!" Ash shouted as he jumped into the fray. "Two against two seems like a better match, wouldn't you say? Pikachu, give 'em a taste of their own medicine!"

Pikachu leapt into action. It lunged at Ekans, belting it square between the eyes. The snake spiraled into a bench and tipped it over backwards. Koffing looked up and got Pikachu's tail across its face; it spun dizzily in midair, trailing a swirling gas cloud as it went. Staryu jumped, whirling through the air like a ninja star, and whacked Koffing into Ekans. Both of them tumbled and flew into Jessie's gut, knocking the wind out of her.

"Meowth, we could use some assistance here!" James yelped, as Pikachu plowed headfirst into Koffing's face.

Meowth huddled behind the overturned bench. "Are you bonkers? I'm not gettin' mixed up in whatever crazy scene you two got goin' over there-nya!"

Ekans and Koffing growled, preparing to gang up on Staryu again. "Bubblebeam!" Misty bellowed, and a lightning-fast torrent of bubbles shot forth, drenching Ekans and Koffing from head to whatever counted as toes.

A light clicked on in Ash's mind.

"Hey, Rocket dorks!" he shouted. "You know what water conducts?"

Misty gasped. "Ash, NO-"

But it was already on its way from Ash's brain to his mouth.

"Pikachu, do that electric thing again!"

Pikachu's cheeks glowed bright yellow as the charge built up. A massive lightning bolt exploded out of the tiny mouse, striking the entire group of thieves. Jessie, James, Meowth, Ekans, and Koffing all screamed as the electric attack lit up the atrium like a bonfire.

And all too late, Ash noticed Koffing inadvertently expelling its gas.

And in the split-second before it happened, he realized what a colossally stupid idea this had been.

KABOOM.

The whole lobby ripped apart. Ash dived onto Misty, trying to shield her from the explosion, as glass shards and chunks of plaster flew everywhere. Things crunched and banged in all directions. The two trainers kept their eyes clamped shut, too terrified to look.

Finally, the din calmed. Ash's ears rang like a churchbell as he slowly helped Misty to her feet, both of them trembling uncontrollably.

The entire first floor was in ruins. Benches lay everywhere, burned and twisted. Every window was blown out. The ceiling had caved in, and steel beams were strewn about like driftwood. The TV hung off the wall by a stray cable, and the mural of the three bird Pokémon was on fire.

And there, in the middle of the rubble, were Pikachu and Staryu, covered in dust and looking very frazzled but surprisingly not much worse for wear. The Team Rocket crooks and their Pokémon were, oddly enough, nowhere to be seen, though Ash thought he saw something twinkle far off above him in the night sky.

The nurse stood up from behind the desk, her white hat askew. Her Chansey assistant looked thoroughly shocked.

"In the future," said the nurse softly, "if you're going to have a Pokémon battle, please take it outside."

Ash and Misty looked at each other as the distant whine of police sirens grew louder. "We'll try to remember that," Ash said, grinning awkwardly.

Misty was not grinning back.


	3. The Viridian City Gym

The cops were kind enough to allow Ash and Misty to spend the rest of the night at the police station. The nurse, hiding from the melee behind the reception desk, had assumed the explosion was Team Rocket's fault, and neither Ash nor Misty were about to say anything to the contrary.

When morning broke, the two of them bid the police their thank yous, then set out for breakfast at a little out-of-the-way cafe around the corner. Ash keenly observed that the night's sleep had not improved Misty's mood one whit.

"Listen...Ash, is it?" she muttered, picking at her dashimaki egg with her chopsticks. "You're new to Pokémon training, so I guess I'll cut you a little slack. But you better cut out this whole 'acting before thinking' thing right quick, or else you're gonna get yourself killed."

Ash frowned as Pikachu nibbled contentedly on a scrap of seaweed. "I said I was sorry," he mumbled, stuffing another clump of rice in his mouth. "I just wanted to stop those thieves. They had you up against the wall, I didn't want them to steal your Pokémon…"

"I had that under control," Misty snapped. "Trust me, I've seen my share of battles, all right? I think I've got a bit more experience than a kid who's only one day out of Pallet Town."

Furrowing his brow, Ash picked and poked at his dish. "How old are you, exactly?"

"Twelve," said Misty, between sips of her tea.

Ash snorted. "Yeah, look at you, seasoned veteran," he said, trying not to laugh.

Misty slammed her tea cup down so loudly, it made Pikachu jump; a few sparks shot from its cheeks.

"I know more than you, you jerk!" she barked. "I know better than to hit a gas Pokémon with a bolt of electricity, or to throw rocks at a Spearow! You've got a Pokédex, don't you? Why don't you crack the stupid thing open and learn something for once? It's a dangerous world out there, especially if you keep your head down and try to play by your own rules!"

Ash blinked, letting his rice drop from his chopsticks into his lap. "Jeez, what's your deal?"

With a hard sigh, Misty sat up straight and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't have a deal," she said. "I'm just a trainer who's trying to get better. You might want to think about it too."

She didn't speak again until they were both done eating.

* * *

"A most impressive collection, I must say."

The man stood in the shadows, atop a steel scaffold suspended from the ceiling. A haughty Persian curled affectionately around his ankles. Down below, on a metal floor, stood a cluster of black-clad agents, many of them surrounded by powerful Pokémon. There was a flexing Machoke, a Cloyster concealed within its massive shell, a Magmar that radiated visible heat, and several long-fanged Raticate.

"This was a good week for Team Rocket," the man continued, his face still concealed by darkness. "You've all done well...or, I should say, most of you have."

A ripple seemed to move across the crowd as heads turned towards the two Rocket agents in the back - the only two dressed in white. Jessie and James both glanced awkwardly at the wall as several audible snickers met their ears. Meowth put his paws behind his back and shuffled one foot nervously.

"Turn your Pokémon in at the training room," the man said. "Then head back out to the field. Each of you will receive a new mission shortly. Dismissed."

The crowd dispersed, each agent recalling their Pokémon into Poké Balls as they went.

Jessie and James silently tried to sneak out too.

"Except you," the man's voice boomed. One foreboding finger pointed down at them. "I'm not done with you."

They stood rooted to the spot, alone in the massive chamber, awaiting their judgment from the boss. It was not unlike waiting to be struck down by a god.

The boss gripped the railing of the scaffold. "I'm not happy with you two."

James gulped. "Understandable…"

" _I didn't tell you to speak."_

James promptly bit his tongue. Jessie tried not to breathe too loud.

The boss continued, as his Persian glared through the railing down at them. "You had one simple task this week. All you had to do was steal Pokémon. And somehow, not only did you fail to do that for seven straight days, but you managed to fail in the most spectacular and attention-grabbing way possible. Tell me, which one of you thought it would be a good idea to _blow up the Pokémon Center?_ "

Nobody spoke.

"Well?" hissed the boss.

"Yr srd wr crdn't sprk," Jessie said awkwardly, trying not to open her lips.

"You can answer me, you morons!" the boss thundered, his voice echoing dangerously in the steel rafters.

"Boss, it wasn't us!" James flustered. "I mean, yeah, technically it was Koffing that exploded, but…"

The boss raised a hand. "No more excuses," he said quietly. "You two are trying my patience. You're barely out of basic training, so I'm willing to be benevolent this time. But don't you dare fail me again, do you understand? This organization needs powerful Pokémon. You bring them to me, or else you're finished. Understood?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth all snapped to attention, flashing the Team Rocket salute. "Understood, sir!" they chorused.

"Good," said the boss as he walked away into the shadows, his Persian slinking along next to him. "Let's not have a repeat of last night's debacle ever again, shall we? Dismissed."

Jessie and James heaved a sigh of relief as they retreated for the elevator.

"I always feel like he can read my thoughts or something," James muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And did you see that stupid Persian of his?" Meowth griped. "Man, I'd like to put one over on that overgrown alley cat! Thinks he's so high 'n mighty 'cause he's evolved. He won't be laughin' once I become the boss' right hand cat-nya!"

As the elevator door slid open, Jessie stroked her chin, lost in thought. "I wonder...that kid who defeated us last night. There must be something special about his Pikachu."

"How do you figure?" asked James, pressing the ground floor button.

"Isn't it obvious?" Jessie said as the elevator rose. "It was able to take out all our Pokémon and us in one shot! And it's not as if we're weaklings, right? That Pikachu must be an exceptionally powerful specimen. And I think that's exactly the kind of Pokémon the boss would want, don't you?"

James' eyebrows slowly crept up toward his hair. "Ooh, you're right, Jessie!" he said, a sinister smile spreading across his face. "But how will we find him again? Who knows where he went?"

"You disappoint me, James," Jessie said as the doors slid open again. They stepped out into the back room. "A young trainer, clearly just starting his journey, stopping at the Viridian City Pokémon Center? It's fairly obvious that he'll try to take the Kanto Gym Challenge. And he'll have to come to the Viridian City Gym eventually…"

* * *

Ash and Misty paid their respective bills for breakfast and then set off. With Pikachu seated securely on his shoulder, Ash gazed around at the buildings of Viridian City. It was a bustling metro, just waiting to be explored. New opportunities waited around every corner…

"You don't know where you're going, do you?" Misty asked.

Ash cleared his throat haughtily. "Of course I do! If I wanna be League Champion, I have to face the gym leaders! Obviously, I'm going to the Viridian City Pokémon Gym!"

Misty crossed her arms and squinted at Ash. "Uh huh," she said flatly. "And where is it?"

"Uh, y'know," Ash muttered, putting his hands in his pockets. "It's, uh...around."

With another sigh, Misty heaved her backpack onto her shoulder and set off up the street, in the opposite direction that Ash was facing. "Come on, I'll bring you there," she groaned.

Pikachu clung to Ash's head. "I would've figured it out eventually," Ash mumbled under his breath.

"You would've been wandering around this city for days, Ash," Misty shot back. "Besides, I'm not done with you yet - there's still the matter of you replacing my bicycle."

Ash winced. Deep down, he was sort of hoping she had forgiven him for that.

They cut through the city for twenty minutes until they came to a large marble building, set apart from the rest of the city by a sprawling grove of trees. Huge marble pillars lined the path up to the front door.

"Well, here it is," Misty said triumphantly, "the Viridian City Gym. Told you I knew the way."

Ash's stomach gave a little hop. This was it! He was about to challenge his first gym leader!

"By the way," Misty continued, "is that Pikachu really the only Pokémon you have?"

"Right now, sure," Ash said, scratching Pikachu behind his ear; Pikachu's foot twitched happily. "But you better believe I'm gonna catch a ton of others down the line."

Misty rolled her eyes. "You might want to think about catching some now. You are aware of what type of Pokémon this gym leader specializes in, right?"

"Look, I don't have time to talk strategy with you right now!" Ash interrupted. "There's a gym badge that's calling my name!" He put an arm around Misty and leaned in close to her ear. "You hear it? It's saying 'Here I am, Ash! I'm inside this gym! Come and win me!'"

And he bolted up the path toward the front door, Pikachu bounding along beside him.

Misty scrunched her nose and glared at Ash. "Yeah, that's what it's saying."

The door drew closer. Ash's heart was practically twanging out of his chest. Right behind that door was the first gym leader he would ever defeat!

He tugged the door handle.

It clicked and wouldn't budge.

Confused, Ash yanked the handle a few more times before Pikachu started jabbering and trying to get Ash's attention. He looked up and noticed what his Pokémon was pointing at - a large metal sign on the wall next to the door.

THE VIRIDIAN CITY GYM IS CLOSED  
WHILE THE GYM LEADER IS AWAY  
ON PERSONAL BUSINESS.

" _Closed?!"_ Ash yelped. "But...but that's not fair! I came all this way and everything!"

Misty sidled up behind Ash. "Yeah, this gym is closed a lot. The gym leader's hard to get a hold of."

Ash whirled around. "How do you know?" he asked, his face rigid.

Misty's eyes widened as she ran a hand over the back of her neck. "'Cause I read it in a magazine article once," she said quickly. "He's, like, always off on training retreats and stuff…"

"Well, I'm not gonna go away empty-handed, that's for darn sure!" Ash grumbled. He pounded furiously on the door. "Hey! Open up! I wanna talk to somebody!"

"There's nobody here!" Misty shouted. "You just read the stupid sign, didn't you?"

Ash craned his neck to look up at the looming building. "It says the gym leader's not here," he said, "but there's gotta be someone who takes care of the place while he's gone, right? I just wanna talk to someone and find out when this guy will be back…"

Without warning, Ash made a break for the side of the building. Pikachu squeaked quizzically as Misty ran a hand down her face.

"Ash, will you give it a rest?" she shouted, she and Pikachu running after him. "Why don't you just come back later? There's other Pokémon gyms for you to challenge! Why not just head to Pewter City? There's a gym there, and you can catch some more Pokémon on the way…"

Ash stopped, surveying the building again. Trees surrounded it on all sides, and there were no windows anywhere. "Man, this guy really doesn't want people looking in…" he muttered.

"Yeah!" Misty said. "Maybe that's a sign that you _shouldn't be trying to look in!_ Now c'mon, I told you there's no one here, just give it up already…"

A small fire seemed to erupt in Ash's chest.

"Give up?!" he yelped. " _Give up?!_ Ash Ketchum doesn't give up, okay, sister? I'm not gonna let anything stand in the way of that championship! There's a badge to be won here, and I'm gonna figure out how to get it!" He took off for the back of the building. "Maybe there's a back door…"

Misty put her hands to her head in disbelief. "What are you gonna do, break in?" she squeaked. "Ash, seriously, cut it out, okay? You don't need to -"

But she stopped when she noticed what Pikachu was doing. It had frozen in its tracks, and its ears were twitching back and forth, as if it were trying to hear something very quiet.

And then Misty thought she heard something too. Movement in the trees.

Something that sounded like a voice.

"Ash," Misty gulped, "come back here, now, please...let's just get out of here…"

Ash turned around. "Look, you may be some kind of quitter, okay, but I know I can figure this -"

Three figures leapt down out of a tree, landing on the ground between Ash and Misty.

"Well, would you look at this? We meet again! Small world, isn't it?"

Ash gasped as he recognized them. The Team Rocket thieves from the Pokémon Center.

Jessie and James glared dangerously at Ash, each one of them holding a Poké Ball. Meowth's extended claws glinted in the sun.

"What the-" Ash choked. "When...how...what did…"

None of these questions received an answer as Jessie and James interrupted him.

"Prepare for trouble!"  
"Make it double!"  
"To protect the world from -"

" _Ash, don't just stand there! Run!"_ Misty screamed.

Jessie's eyes flared furiously. "Don't you _ever_ interrupt the Team Rocket motto!" she fumed. "How dare you! Honestly, haven't you ever heard of a little something called theatrics?"

Pikachu scampered to Ash's side. "What do you three want?" Ash snarled.

James chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Well, see, that's the funny thing," he said coolly. "It's actually your Pikachu that we want."

" _WHAT?!"_ Ash hollered, holding Pikachu close. "Forget it! Never!"

"Oh, don't even bother-nya," Meowth jeered, picking his teeth with one claw. "See, after that impressive display at the Pokémon Center last night, we can't let a souped-up specimen like that get away from us. Our boss wants powerful Pokémon, see, and your Pikachu fits the bill-nya!"

Ash's fists shuddered in rage as Pikachu leapt to the ground, its cheeks glowing. "I beat you losers once before," he growled, "I can do it again! You want my Pikachu? You're gonna have to go through me!"

"Ash, what are you doing?!" Misty hissed. "You can't beat them! They're gonna wallop you!"

Jessie shot a contemptuous look Misty's way. "Oh, don't you worry, little missy, once we get done with this punk, you're next in line!"

"Who are you callin' punk, ugly?" Ash shouted.

Misty slapped a hand to her head in disbelief. Now he'd done it…

Baring gritted teeth, Jessie whipped back around, her scowling face practically as red as her hair. "Ugly?" she seethed, gripping her Poké Ball so tight it could've shattered. " _UGLY?!"_

In a flash of light, Ekans was on the ground, arching and hissing menacingly. Pikachu dove at it, but the snake wriggled sideways with surprising speed. It spit a gob of poison at Pikachu, missed, and burned a smoking dark spot in the dirt.

"Ash!" Misty yelled, her heart hammering. "Just run! It's not worth it!"

Either Ash didn't hear her, or he chose not to. "Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Pikachu leapt into the trees and clung to a branch, sparks flying from its body as the charge built up. Ekans spit menacingly from below.

Another flash of light, and James' Koffing flew into the fray. It sailed straight at the tree, colliding with Pikachu and sending it tumbling. The Thundershock exploded in midair, carving powerful lightning bolts across the clearing. Ash dropped to the dirt, covering his head with his arms.

"Can't hit what you can't see!" James shouted. "Koffing, Smokescreen!"

A billowing black cloud engulfed the area as noxious smoke spewed from Koffing's pores. Ash hacked and coughed, trying not to breathe the foul gas. He squinted, his eyes burning. He couldn't make out a thing.

"Pikachu!" he called. "Pikachu, Thundershock again!"

But there was no reply. Instead he heard a sickening thump, followed by the sound of something being dragged along the ground.

Ash frantically waved his arms, trying to dispel the smoke. What he saw made his blood freeze.

Jessie and James stood there triumphantly among the gas, their Pokémon at their side. In front of them was Meowth, holding an unconscious Pikachu by the tail with one paw and clutching a large rock in the other.

"You knocked him out?!" Ash rasped. "Tha-that's not fair! That's not official battle rules!"

Meowth flashed an evil grin as he chucked the rock aside. "We at Team Rocket never cared much about rules-nya!" he purred.

Jessie held up an empty Poké Ball. "And as the saying goes," she cooed, "to the victor belong the spoils!"

But before she could throw the ball, something massive flew out of the smoke behind her.

WHAM.

The giant purple starfish Pokémon plowed into Jessie and James' backs, sending them both tumbling head over heels on top of their own Pokémon. Ash leapt aside as the starfish whirled through the air, spinning gracefully, its appendages counter-rotating.

The smoke dissipated, and there stood Misty, her face livid. "Starmie!" she shrieked. "Confuse Ray!"

A bright pink beam of energy burst from the gem in Starmie's center. The Rocket thieves convulsed, clutching their heads in pain. Meowth let go of Pikachu's tail.

To Ash's astonishment, the thieves and their Pokémon began to hover. Soon they were a good ten feet off the ground. James yelped in fear. "It wasn't supposed to go like this!" he squealed.

Misty's eyes burned with fury. "Now, Starmie! Water Pulse!"

Starmie zipped beneath the levitating Rockets and spun faster still, forming a levitating ball of water. It burst into a wave, blasting the thieves straight up in the air. Ash squinted skyward as they disappeared into the blue.

Kneeling down to check on Pikachu, Ash was relieved to see his Pokémon's eyes open. It looked up at him mournfully, as if apologizing for losing the battle.

"It's okay, buddy, we're safe now," Ash said. Then he got to his feet. "Man, Misty, thanks a ton! That was really -"

BONK.

Ash collapsed as Misty's backpack met the side of his head. He sputtered in protest as she whopped him again and again, but she didn't let up.

" _YOU! STUPID! IDIOT!"_ she bellowed, punctuating each word with another hit. " _WHY! DIDN'T! YOU! LISTEN?!"_

Before she could pummel him any worse, the sound of sirens cut the air. Two police officers rounded the corner, their weapons drawn. One of them, the policewoman whom Ash had received a ride from yesterday, lowered her gun as she recognized the two trainers.

"You two again?" she asked. "What's going on back here? We saw smoke, it looked like there was a fire!"

Misty straightened her tank top and slung her bag back over her shoulder as Ash got awkwardly to his feet, Pikachu looking up quizzically at him.

"Go ahead, Ash," Misty said dangerously. "Tell the nice lady what happened."

* * *

The interrogation went quickly; after all, it was only the second time in 24 hours that these particular Team Rocket agents had struck. Soon, Ash and Misty were on their way, Pikachu in tow, heading north to the outskirts of Viridian City. It wasn't a pleasant jaunt.

Ash cleared his throat, glancing quickly at Misty. Her stony expression didn't falter.

"Um," he started lamely, "I, uh...I'm sorry about back there."

Misty kept her gaze fixed on the sidewalk. "I should hope so," she grumbled.

Ash bit his lip. He supposed it was foolish of him to expect an apology in return.

"Look," Misty continued, finally turning to face Ash, "you may be too cocky to realize it, but it's obvious you're in way over your head here. Pokémon training isn't all fun and games. If you don't know what you're getting yourself into, you're gonna end up in a ditch somewhere, or worse." She shifted her backpack again. "And I don't want to see that happen to you, Ash."

Ash's eyes widened. "You don't?"

"Of course not," Misty said. "No young trainer deserves that. You've got a long way to go before you reach the Indigo Plateau, Ash. And you clearly need someone to help you."

Ash didn't know what to say. His gut instinct was that he _didn't_ need help, of course he didn't; after all, Gary never needed anyone's help, and surely he could do as well as that jerk, if not better, right? But with the last two days swirling around in his mind, Ash couldn't help admitting that he and Pikachu would probably be dead multiple times over if they hadn't run into Misty when they did...

"Well, uh...thanks," he mumbled, tugging absentmindedly at the brim of his hat. "So, um...does that mean you're coming with me to Pewter City?"

What could've been a smile almost seemed to creep into the corners of Misty's mouth.

"Yeah, I guess it does," she said offhandedly. "Plus, I still gotta make sure you pay me back for that bike you owe me."

Ash put his hands in his pockets as Pikachu scampered up his back, perching on his shoulder.

With a flourish, Misty produced a map from her backpack, unfolding it with one hand. "Route 2 cuts north towards Pewter City," she said. "There should be plenty of Pokémon for you to catch along there. Best for you to expand your team so you'll have enough coverage to take on whoever the next gym leader is."

Ash scanned the route Misty was pointing at. "Wow, that's a pretty big forest in the middle there," he said eagerly. "I bet a ton of different kinds of Pokémon live in there, right?"

He could've sworn Misty gave a small shudder.

"Oh yeah," she said, a slight waver in her voice. "There's...there's plenty."


	4. The Bug Catcher

Ash wished he had about five more sets of eyes.

Viridian Forest sprawled out for acres around him, and he knew every inch of it must have been teeming with wild Pokémon. He darted from one side of the path to another, trying to spot some hidden creature. Pikachu crawled along at his side, on all fours, its sensitive ears twitching at the slightest sound.

"C'mon, guys," Ash smirked, fingers clutched eagerly around an empty Poké Ball, "I know one of you wants to come out and play!"

Misty walked gingerly behind, her arms held stiffly at her sides. "Yeah, make a little more noise, Ash," she said, "I'm sure they'll all come running."

Ash smiled down at Pikachu as it sniffed the dirt. "This is where you lived before you met Professor Oak, right, Pikachu? You must know these woods like the back of your paw. If you see anything cool, buddy, let me know, okay?"

Suddenly, Pikachu's ears stood up straight. He pointed at the bushes dead ahead of them with one stubby arm. Ash gasped sharply as he saw it.

A small green caterpillar-like Pokémon wriggled out of the brush. It slowly plodded across the path, its pink antennae feeling the air.

"Aha!" Ash whispered. "I've seen these guys before!"

Fumbling slightly in his excitement, Ash clicked the Pokédex open.

" _ **Caterpie, the Worm Pokémon. Its short feet are tipped with suction pads that enable it to tirelessly climb slopes and walls. When it grows, it sheds its skin, covers itself with silk, and becomes a cocoon."**_

"Oh my gosh," Ash squeaked, "would you look at it? It doesn't even know we're here! This is a golden opportunity! Watch this, Misty, I'm finally gonna make my first real Pokémon capture!"

Ash turned, expecting Misty to be as excited as him. To his surprise, she was standing with one foot behind her, as if she was ready to bolt back to the forest gatehouse at a moment's notice. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her skull.

"What the heck is your problem?" Ash chuckled. "You're afraid of a wild Pokémon? I thought you were supposed to be some sort of big expert, according to you."

Misty breathed hard through her nose as sweat began to drip from her face. " _I...don't…like...bugs…"_ she hissed through gritted teeth. She slowly took another step backwards.

It was all Ash could do to keep from bursting out laughing. "Are you kidding me?! It's just a Caterpie! It's not gonna hurt you! See, I knew you weren't as perfect as you said you were!"

Misty's eyes flashed dangerously even as she trembled. "If I could feel my legs, I'd give you such a pounding right now," she growled.

Pikachu tugged the leg of Ash's jeans to redirect his attention. Caterpie was squiggling away into the trees.

"Oh no you don't, buddy!" Ash yelped, twisting his hat around backwards on his head in determination. "You're all mine!"

Misty made a sort of strangled gulp. "Ash, I swear, if you catch that thing -"

But it was too late. Ash heaved the Poké Ball. It soared through the air in an arc.

The Caterpie looked up curiously, not seeming to know what was going on.

Bonk. The ball opened. A flash of red light. Click.

Misty slapped a hand against her forehead in disbelief. "Oh, for the love of - Ash, you moron!" she snapped, clearly back to her old self again. "You can't just throw a Poké Ball at whatever random wild Pokémon you see! You're supposed to -"

But to her surprise, the ball wiggled briefly on the ground before coming to a definite rest. Caterpie was caught.

Ash could've leapt ten feet in the air. "YES!" he bellowed, with enough force that a small flock of Pidgey took to the air from the surrounding trees. "I caught it! I caught my first wild Pokémon!"

Pikachu squeaked in celebration, sparks shooting jubilantly from his cheeks.

Grinning mockingly, Ash waved Caterpie's Poké Ball in Misty's face. "Doubted me, did you? Think I'm a moron, eh? Well, this 'moron' just took the next big step towards becoming a Pokémon Master! What do you think of that, Little Miss Jelly-Legs?"

Scowling, Misty batted Ash's arm away. "Get that thing out of my face before I hurl it into the nearest river," she snarled.

"Ah, you're just jealous!" Ash beamed. He couldn't get over himself if he tried. "Maybe if you got over that fear of yours, you could have got yourself a plum companion like I did! Not so high-and-mighty after all, are you?"

Misty's grip tightened on her backpack strap. "I swear, Ash, you're gonna get such a beating…"

"You can't bring me down, I'm on a roll now!" Ash bounded into the brush, Pikachu scampering along behind him. "There's other Pokémon around here just begging to be caught, and I'm gonna nab 'em!"

"Ash, stay on the path, will you?!" Misty yelped, running into the bushes. "You're gonna get lost!" She stepped carefully, branches poking at her legs as she went.

Ash didn't hear her. He wasn't even paying very close attention to what direction he was walking. He was too busy staring gooey-eyed at the Poké Ball in his hands, with his freshly caught Caterpie nestled within.

It would've taken a crowbar to pry the smile off of Ash's face. "Can you believe it, Pikachu?" he beamed. "All these years of wanting to catch my own Pokémon, and I've finally done it! And to think, everybody told me this would be hard!"

Pikachu squeaked, looking up at the Poké Ball as he waddled alongside Ash's jaunty stride.

"Y'know what," said Ash, stopping to kneel at the foot of a tree, "I think we all gotta get better acquainted with each other. Come on out, Caterpie, and let's get a good look at ya!"

The ball sprang open, and Caterpie emerged in a flash. It glanced around a bit before peering up at Ash, its head cocked to one side.

"Hi, Caterpie," Ash grinned. "I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum. And this here is Pikachu," he added, scratching Pikachu behind one happy ear. "Guess we're all part of the same team now, huh?"

Caterpie inched closer to Ash's outstretched hand.

"We're gonna travel the world, all of us together," Ash said. "And we're gonna meet a lot more friends, you'll see. And we're gonna take on the gym challenge, and one day we'll be standing at the Indigo Plateau, all of us, Pokémon League Champions! How's that sound, buddy?"

Caterpie hopped up Ash's arm, wiggling onto his shoulder and nuzzling his ear. Ash couldn't help but laugh.

Misty whacked a low-hanging branch out of her pinkened face. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me," she groaned. "You let that thing _crawl_ on you?"

Ash stood up carefully, so as not to knock Caterpie over. "He's not a thing!" he snapped. "He's my Pokémon! And for what it's worth, he's already a lot nicer than you!" He put a hand to his chin so Caterpie could crawl onto it. "Caterpie, this is Misty. She's kind of fussy, but I know deep down she really likes you, right?"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Look, we're way off the path here. Are you gonna catch another Pokémon or not?"

"Of course I am!" Ash said, watching as Caterpie clung upside-down to his arm. "What kind of stupid question is that?" And with Pikachu tagging behind, he pushed further into the trees.

His eyes darted around as he pushed leaves and limbs out of his way. Finally, he spotted a clearing - and his face lit up like a streetlamp.

It pecked at the ground, ruffling its brown feathers importantly. The arc of its dusty pink plumage gave its eyes a steely, serious look. Despite the prevalence of their pre-evolved form in the trees around Pallet Town, Ash had almost never seen one of these Pokémon in the wild.

" _ **Pidgeotto,"**_ the Pokédex squawked, " _ **the Bird Pokémon. The evolved form of Pidgey. The claws on its feet are well-developed. It can carry prey to its nest for over 60 miles. Very protective of its sprawling territorial area, this Pokémon will fiercely peck at any intruder."**_

Ash's stomach did a small flip. The memory of the Spearow attack was fresh in his mind. He knew better than to attack this Pokémon directly.

"What do you think, guys?" Ash whispered, kneeling among the bushes. "Sounds tough. Does he look like a keeper?"

Pikachu nodded, his tiny black eyes narrowed in concentration. Caterpie seemed a little less certain.

Misty burst out of the trees, hacking and slashing more branches out of her way, and knelt down beside them. "Ash, that's an evolved Pidgeotto over there," she wheezed. "There's no way in heck you're ever gonna catch that thing!"

Ash smirked again. "Oh, ye of little faith," he chuckled. "I think we've already well and truly established that I know how to catch a Pokémon or two!" He leapt to his feet, grabbed another empty Poké Ball from his belt, and hurled it into the clearing.

It bopped against Pidgeotto's back, scooping up the bird in another dazzling flash of red.

"YEAH!" Ash whooped. "Two for two! How do you like th-"

But suddenly, the ball sprang open with a blaze of white light. Pidgeotto exploded back into the open, its wings outstretched. Some of its feathers were at an odd angle.

And with shocking agility, it turned, fixing its intimidating glare on Ash, Misty, and Pikachu.

Ash gulped. "Ooh…um, well, that was unexpected…"

"It's 'cause you didn't weaken it, peabrain!" Misty hissed. "Quick, battle it!"

Pidgeotto ruffled its feathers again, hopping dangerously towards Ash.

"All right, bird," Ash said, trying to sound tough, "you wanna tangle, let's do this! Meet my newest buddy! Caterpie, go!"

Caterpie leapt from Ash's arm and into the clearing, its glassy eyes staring up at Pidgeotto. It trembled a bit.

Misty grabbed Ash by the back of his shirt. " _What the heck did you do THAT for?!"_ she shrieked.

"Because you told me to battle it!" Ash retorted. "Jeez! Aren't you ever satisfied?"

But before he could argue, Misty grabbed Ash's face and forcibly turned his head to look at the horror show unfolding in the clearing.

Caterpie was running for its life as fast as its little suction pad feet could carry it. Pidgeotto jabbed at the worm Pokémon with its beak, flapping up a storm. It had a hungry look in its eyes.

Ash's insides turned icy. _Oh crud,_ he thought, _birds EAT worms, don't they?!_

Whimpering, Caterpie scurried up a nearby tree. Pidgeotto jabbed the trunk with shocking precision, clamping Caterpie between its beak. Ash gasped.

" _Caterpie, return!"_ he screamed, holding the Poké Ball out in front of him. A flash of red, and Pidgeotto's beak snapped shut as Caterpie vanished back into the safety of the ball.

None too pleased at having its dinner taken away, the bird rounded on Ash.

Before anyone could speak, Pikachu leapt into the clearing, yellow fur on edge. A brief crackle, and the clearing exploded with lightning as Pikachu unleashed a mighty Thundershock attack.

Ash fell backwards from the shockwave. He scrambled back to his haunches and saw that Pidgeotto was now crumpled against the tree trunk, its feathers smoldering. It was out cold.

"Now!" Ash coughed. "Let's try that again!"

Another throw of the Poké Ball, and Pidgeotto vanished into it. The ball dropped to the ground and fell still. Pidgeotto was caught.

Both Ash and Pikachu heaved a simultaneous sigh of relief. "Oh my gosh," Ash breathed, "that was intense! Misty, did you see how-"

SLAP.

Ash fell backwards again, his cheek stinging.

Misty's face was flush with fury. "You know, every time I think you can't get any dumber, you somehow manage to keep lowering the bar!" she thundered. "Don't you know ANYTHING about training Pokémon? The type matchup system? How to _weaken_ wild Pokémon before you catch them?"

Massaging his cheek, Ash clambered back to his feet. "Would you stop hitting me?" he snapped.

"If you stop being a numbskull and almost killing your Pokémon every time, maybe I will!" Misty shot back. "Pidgeotto is a Flying-type Pokémon! Caterpie is a Bug-type Pokémon! Flying types are super effective against Bug types! For crying out loud, Ash, type matchups are like the first thing any competitive trainer learns when they set out on their journey! Any idiot can look this stuff up in a book! You do know how to _read_ , right?"

Ash scowled. "Of course I -"

"And on top of that," Misty interrupted, "what dingus throws a Poké Ball at a wild Pokémon without trying to weaken it in battle first? Of course it's gonna break out of the ball, what are you, dense?"

"Hey, c'mon!" Ash protested. "I caught Caterpie without weakening him!"

Misty made a sound like an agitated Rhydon. "The only reason you caught _THAT_ stupid thing without weakening it is because it's _ALREADY_ weak enough as it is! Caterpie are one of the wimpiest Pokémon species out there, and if you'd actually do your stupid research, you'd know better than to pit one against an evolved Pokémon that's more than three times its size! You gotta get out of this habit of trying to do everything your way without thinking, Ash, or else it's gonna cost you big-time!"

" _OKAY!"_ Ash bellowed. "Now I know! Jeez! I'm sorry! Will you lay off already?"

Turning on his heels, he stomped deeper into the woods, Pikachu at his side.

"It's not like I'm not trying," Ash grumbled. "So I'm making a few mistakes. Everybody goofs up now and again, right, Pikachu?"

Pikachu looked quizzically up at his trainer. He seemed to be at a loss.

"Right," Ash muttered. "But that's how I'm gonna learn. So now, if I try to catch something else, I know what _not_ to do. See? I'm _not_ a moron…"

Pikachu's tail twitched. It pointed at the foot of a nearby tree covered in oddly-shaped growths.

Ash saw it. Another wild Pokémon. This one looked even more worm-like than Caterpie did - it was brown, with beady little black eyes. Ash had seen these before, too. He clicked the Pokédex open.

" _ **Weedle, the Hairy Bug Pokémon. Often found in forests and grasslands, eating leaves. It has a sharp stinger of around two inches on top of its head that injects poison."**_

Ash reached for another Poké Ball. "What do you think, Pikachu? Two Bug Pokémon are better than one, right?"

The sound of crunching footsteps behind him told him that Misty had caught up again. "Come on, Ash, a Weedle now? Isn't one slimy bug already more than enough?" There was a slight hint of panic in her voice.

"Hey, this is my team we're talking about here, not yours!" Ash snapped. "You can't tell me what I can and can't catch! And frankly, I'm getting kinda tired of you bossing me around all the time, so why don't you take a chill pill and just let me -"

FOOSH.

Ash whirled back around just in time to see the Weedle vanish in a burst of red light. A Poké Ball dropped to the ground.

"Hey!" Ash gaped. "What the-"

"Sweet!" A voice cut through the trees. "I got him!"

A small boy stepped out from the nearby bushes. He looked to be several years younger than Ash. Clad in shorts and a wide-brimmed straw hat, he carried a large butterfly net that was almost taller than him.

Ash scowled. "What's the big idea, kid? That was supposed to be my Weedle!"

The boy glanced at Ash and Misty. "Sorry, man," he shrugged, "but you gotta be faster than that if you wanna catch wild Pokémon."

"Yeah, sure, you're sorry," Ash grumbled. "You sure look it. What's your name, kid?"

The boy put his hands on his hips proudly. "Doug's my name, bugs are my game!" He grinned. "You like that? I thought it up myself."

Misty glanced off to the side. "Oh yeah," she mumbled in mock interest. "Real original."

"Anyway," Doug continued, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "you're obviously a trainer, aren'tcha, buddy?" He pointed at Ash. "You wanna have a battle? I wanna show off my cool Bug Pokémon!"

A tiny fire seemed to ignite inside Ash's chest.

"A battle?" Ash repeated. "A real live Pokémon battle? You bet I do! I'm gonna mop the floor with you, kid!" He grabbed Pidgeotto's Poké Ball. "C'mon, you 'n me, right here, right now! Let's go!"

"Oh, not here," Doug said matter-of-factly. "Not under this tree. It'd be safer to find a clearing."

"What do you mean, safer?" Misty gulped. Her eyes widened.

Doug pointed up towards the leaves of the growth-covered tree. "That's what I mean."

Ash, Misty, and Pikachu all looked up. Misty nearly fell to the ground, choking out a sort of strangled whine.

The growths on the tree weren't growths at all. They were cocoons. Shiny yellow cocoons that tapered to a point on one end, with glistening black eyes set in the front. And there, nestled among the leaves, was a huge hexagonal honeycomb. Protruding from each cell was an imposing black-and-yellow abdomen tipped with a razor-sharp stinger.

"Where there's Weedle, there's Kakuna," Doug said calmly. "And where there's Kakuna, there's usually Beedrill. You really don't wanna disturb them when they're chilling in their hive." He grinned again. "So, buddy, you still wanna battle here?"

Ash swallowed hard. He didn't like the looks of those stingers.

"No, you know what, maybe we'd better find that clearing."

* * *

A few yards away, they found a nice open area with ample room for a battle. Doug stood at one end, Ash at the other. Off on the sidelines, Misty tapped her foot impatiently, keeping one frantic eye out for any more creepy bugs.

"All right," Doug called, "league rules! I challenged, so I get to go first!"

"Fine by me!" Ash said, smirking. He almost felt bad for what he was about to do to this poor kid and his group of Bug Pokémon. Now that he had a Flying type like Pidgeotto on his team, how could he lose?

Doug popped a green Poké Ball out of his little plastic carrying case and tossed it into the air.

"Go, Pinsir!"

A flash. Misty screamed. And for once, Ash was on her side.

This was a Pokémon he had never seen before, but it looked like it could've walked out of one of his nightmares. Almost as tall as he was, it flexed its spindly arms and gnashed its vertical rows of knife-like teeth. The sun glinted dangerously off its brown exoskeleton and its two massive spiky horns. It narrowed its calculating eyes, its rattling breath somewhere between a hiss and a buzz.

Despite the numbness in his hands, Ash flicked the Pokédex open.

" _ **Pinsir, the Stag Beetle Pokémon. Its two long pincer horns are powerful. Once they grip an enemy, they won't release until the foe is torn in half. If it fails to crush the foe, it will swing it around and toss it hard."**_

"You like him?" Doug asked, beaming with pride. "I caught him in the Safari Zone in Fuchsia City last summer! Now c'mon, buddy, you gonna do anything or what?"

"Oh yeah, right!" Ash said, snapping out of it. He'd been struck so off-guard by the Pokémon, he'd almost forgotten he was supposed to battle it.

 _Okay, it's big, sure, but it's still just a bug,_ Ash thought as he reached for Pidgeotto's Poké Ball. _If what Misty says is true, I've got the type advantage. I still can't lose!_

"Pidgeotto!" he shouted, heaving the Poké Ball into the air. "I choose you!"

Pidgeotto appeared...and promptly flopped onto the ground in a feathery heap. It was still unconscious from when Ash had captured it earlier.

Ash felt like he'd just been doused with ice water.

"Hey, your Pokémon's fainted already!" Doug said, scratching his head. "Does that mean I win this round by default?"

"No!" Ash yelped. "Just gimme a second here!" He whirled around to face Misty. "Hey listen, you got any medicine in that bag of yours? Like a Revive or a Full Heal or something?"

A look of utter incredulity flashed across Misty's face for one fleeting second.

"Actually, yes," she said coolly. "But you're not getting it."

" _WHAT?!"_ Ash hissed. "C'mon, you gotta! This kid's gonna wallop me if I can't revive Pidgeotto!"

Misty breathed hard through her nose. "Well, maybe you should've thought of that before you mouthed off about how you were gonna mop the metaphorical floor with him, shouldn't you?"

Ash felt his hands ball into fists. Hastily, he recalled Pidgeotto and stowed the Poké Ball. "Okay, forget Pidgeotto," he said, "let's go with Pikachu! I know you're strong enough to take this guy, right?"

Pikachu peered out from around Ash's leg. Pinsir stared back, crossing its pincers with a loud scraping sound, as if daring it to come closer.

With a whimper, Pikachu scurried away, burying himself in Misty's backpack.

"Come on, man!" Doug whined. "We haven't got all day, I gotta be back to my mom's house for supper in like an hour! Hurry up and battle, willya?"

Ash looked desperately at his last Poké Ball. It was all he had left. Maybe it was time to start believing in miracles.

"All right," he mumbled, "here goes nothing." Then, with a mighty throw: "Caterpie, let's do it!"

Flash. There was Caterpie, staring intently up at a massive Pinsir that could just as easily step on it without even noticing.

Misty ran a trembling hand down her reddened face. "Ash, do you retain ANY information at all?! Caterpie can't possibly win this battle! Just forfeit, okay? Admit you made a mistake, it's not that hard!"

Ash twisted his hat backwards again, his brow furrowed dangerously. "Ash Ketchum doesn't make mistakes, sister. There's nothing I can't get out of if I try."

"Pinsir!" Doug shouted. "Vice Grip!"

Pinsir pawed the ground with its stubby legs and lunged, its pincers ready to strike.

"Caterpie!" Ash yelped. "Dodge it!"

A hop, and Caterpie was in the air. Pinsir cut a huge gouge in the earth. It whipped around, but Caterpie was stuck firmly to the giant Pokémon's back, its suction cup feet gripping tight.

Pinsir whirled around, trying to grab the little pest, but Caterpie was surprisingly quick. It darted back into a leap as Pinsir snatched between its own legs, then clambered onto the branch of a narrow tree at the edge of the clearing.

"Slash, Pinsir!" Doug called. "Don't let him use his String Shot on you!"

"Caterpie, String Shot!" Ash shouted, hoping that the attack was as formidable as Doug made it sound.

Pinsir swiped at the trunk of the tree, knocking a huge chunk out of it. Caterpie clung tight to the limb, spitting a long string of shiny silk from its proboscis. It stuck to the left pincer.

With the skill of a mountain rappeller, Caterpie kicked off the branch, swinging around Pinsir in a wide arc. The silky String Shot tightened around the pincers, locking them together. Pinsir swiped and slashed at Caterpie, but it was out of arm's reach.

"Whoa!" Ash chirped. "I didn't know he could do that!"

Misty ran a hand through her hair in wonder. "Actually, neither did I…"

Caterpie swung around again, its nubby little tail extended, and landed square in Pinsir's left eye. Pinsir reeled in pain, thrashing and clutching its face, as Caterpie snapped free of the silk strand and rolled away across the grass. It was looking exceptionally proud of itself.

"Hey, don't wuss out on me, Pinsir!" Doug shouted. "You don't have to take that from some wimpy little Caterpie!"

Ash laughed out loud. "Hey, this 'wimpy' Caterpie is kicking your Pinsir's exoskeletoned butt!" he crowed. "What do you think of that, Short Pants?"

Doug pouted. "Pinsir!" he yelled. "Take Down!"

With a sudden burst of strength, Pinsir forced its spiky pincers apart. The silk binding burst like an undone zipper. Seething, squinting through one red and watery eye, Pinsir dropped to all fours and pawed the ground furiously.

Ash gulped. Caterpie shivered.

Pinsir kicked off like a rocket, massive head down, charging like an out-of-control freight train.

"Caterpie!" Ash bellowed. " _LOOK OUT!_ "

At the last second, Caterpie leapt a good ten feet in the air. Pinsir kept running straight on past.

Past the edge of the clearing, through the bushes.

And with a sickening CRUNCH, it collided head-on with a tree, with enough force that it nearly tore out of the ground at the root.

No one spoke.

They didn't have to. They all saw it.

They all saw the huge yellow Beedrill hive drop out of the tree and shatter like china on Pinsir's back.

Ash was rooted to the spot. It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Seven huge Beedrill tumbled out, their gossamer wings instantly taking flight. Bits of honey clung to their shiny black-and-yellow bodies. Their antennae twitched as they smelled the air. And their stingers - all three each, two on the forelegs and one on the abdomen - were all crouched and ready to pierce.

And they'd found their targets. The ones responsible for waking them up. And, true to Doug's warning, they were not happy.

The buzzing rent the air like a chainsaw.

"Guys," Doug gasped, " _run._ "

Pinsir vanished in a flash of red as Doug whipped its Poké Ball back into his case. The three trainers dashed madly through the trees, Pikachu and Caterpie scurrying alongside, as the Beedrill swarm darted after them.

Ash didn't dare look back. He could barely hear his own frightened breath over the enraged buzzing behind him.

The trainers burst out of the trees, back onto the path. Their footfalls pounded the dirt as the Beedrill exploded out of the leaves, bashing into each other in furious confusion. Misty was screaming at the top of her lungs.

Glancing down as he ran, Ash noticed Caterpie galumphing along beside him, frantically trying to keep pace. He lowered one hand to try and scoop him up.

Bending low, he lost his balance.

In a cloud of dust, Ash hit the ground, rolling head over heels. Caterpie leapt onto his shoulder. Wiping the dirt from his eyes, Ash realized with a jolt that neither Doug nor Misty had noticed him fall. They were still running full-tilt.

And then the buzzing got louder. Ash whipped around and gasped. One Beedrill had broken away from the infighting swarm and was bearing down on him, its steely stingers glinting in the sunlight. Throwing up his hands, Ash braced himself for the worst…

But what happened next made his jaw drop.

Caterpie, its huge eyes steeled with determination, leapt off the ground. Its outer layer of dark green skin flew off its body like a discarded jacket. Wriggling madly in midair, Caterpie began cloaking itself in its own silk, which turned mottled green and shiny as it took form around its fleshy body.

The Beedrill flew level with Ash. It reared one stinger back, ready to impale.

And the stinger cracked to pieces as it collided with the newly formed chrysalis that now stood before Ash, a steely hard crescent moon that barely even shook from the impact.

Ash's eyes widened in disbelief as the wounded Beedrill turned tail and flew off into the trees.

He glanced down at what Caterpie had become. Still trembling from the adrenaline rush, he flipped his Pokédex open in bewilderment.

" _ **Metapod, the Cocoon Pokémon. The evolved form of Caterpie. Its shell is as hard as an iron slab. Inside this sturdy shell, the body is tender as it undergoes its evolutionary metamorphosis."**_

Tears welled in Ash's eyes. "Metapod," he said in a hushed tone. "You evolved...to protect me?"

Metapod's small eyes, the only part that could move, blinked affirmatively up at its trainer.

But the moment was short lived. The rest of the Beedrill swarm had finished fighting amongst themselves and were fixated on Ash again. Scooping up Metapod, Ash prepared to run…

"Scyther! Fury Cutter!"

A nimble green blur shot by inches over Ash's head. A huge praying mantis-like Pokémon hacked and slashed at the Beedrill swarm with arms that resembled steel scythes, moving faster and lighter than a ninja. Beedrill tumbled out of the air all around it, unconscious and beaten.

Ash turned and saw Doug, standing proudly with another open Poké Ball in his hand. Pikachu stood before him, looking relieved at the safety of his trainer. And behind them both, chalk-white and drenched in sweat, was Misty, arms raised as if ready to run at any second.

"You okay there, buddy?" Doug asked, straightening his straw hat.

Ash cradled Metapod like a newborn baby, chuckling a bit with relief now that he was safe. "I'm fine, man, thanks for saving my bacon there. Did you see what happened? Did you see what Caterpie - I mean, Metapod - did you see what he did?"

Doug beamed at Metapod. "Cool, your Pokémon evolved!" he said. "Congratulations! See, I always tell people Bug Pokémon are cooler than they look!"

With the swarm dispersed, Scyther fluttered back to Doug's side, a satisfied expression on its pinched face.

Pikachu scampered up onto Ash's shoulder to get a better look at Metapod. Ash hoisted his newly evolved Pokémon up. "So, uh, now that that insanity's all done," he mused, "should we finish our battle or what?"  
Doug shrugged. "Eh, we'll call it a draw. I think that's enough excitement for one day. Besides, you could probably use a rest - it'll be dark before you know it, and you're almost at Pewter City. You might want to make it to a Pokémon Center before the sun goes down, y'know?"

Misty slumped against a tree trunk, her heart still beating a million miles an hour. "Yeah," she wheezed, "rest would be nice right about now..."


	5. Brock

"Thank you! Your Pokémon are fighting fit!"

Pikachu leapt happily off the counter and scurried up onto Ash's shoulder. Ash grinned as he stowed Metapod and Pidgeotto's Poké Balls back onto his belt. "Hey, thank _you_ ," he replied to the nurse. "You wouldn't believe the day we just had."

Misty rolled her eyes as she absentmindedly thumbed through one of the Pewter City Pokémon Center's magazines. The nurse smiled warmly as her Chansey assistant wheeled the Poké Ball cart away. "Well, we wish you the best of luck out there tomorrow!" she beamed. "And we hope you enjoy your stay! If you need anything, don't hesitate to let us know!"

Ash flopped down into one of the cushy couches that were scattered around the lobby and stretched. Pikachu curled up on his trainer's chest, tucking his tail in. Misty slid over one of the plastic chairs from the cafe, straddling it backwards and resting her chin on her crossed arms.

"So, how 'bout that battle I had back there, huh?" Ash said proudly. "Did I kill it or what?"

Misty's mouth became a thin line of exasperation. "You didn't exactly win, Ash. Forgetting that little detail, aren't you?"

Ash put his hands behind his head and glanced up at the moonlit sky outside the window. "Well, not technically, I didn't win, but you gotta admit, that was some pretty fancy footwork. Did you ever think a Caterpie could outmaneuver a Pinsir like that? Even I didn't think I was that good a trainer!"

Misty ran a hand down her face yet again. "Ash," she muttered, "you got lucky, okay? If you'd finished that battle, you probably would've lost. That kid had a Pinsir and a Scyther, and he'd been training them for a year. You've been at this two days. If you're serious about taking the Pokémon League Gym Challenge, you need to start thinking about strategy, type matchups, all that important stuff. You _are_ serious about that, right?" she concluded with an arched eyebrow.

Trying not to disturb Pikachu, Ash propped himself up on his elbows to glare at Misty. "Of course I'm serious!" he shot back. "I'm gonna challenge every gym in the Kanto region, Misty, and what's more, I'm gonna win! And I know I can do it 'cause my Pokémon and I make an unstoppable team!"

A laugh met Ash's ears. It was a man's laugh, a dry, jovial chortle.

The man strode over to the couch. He looked to be in his early 40s, with narrow eyes and salt-and-pepper hair, but he had the build of someone who'd worked hard every day of his life. He was smiling at Ash.

"So, sonny," he said, "think you can handle the gym challenge, huh?"

Ash cocked his head suspiciously. "Who's asking?"

The man took a small rock from his pocket and began tossing it to himself like a baseball. "The name's Flint," he said. "I take it you're from out of town." Then he turned towards Misty. "And you've got a traveling companion, I see! Misty, I haven't seen you around here in almost a month! I've been asking your sisters about you, they said -"

Misty hastily slashed one hand across her throat, her eyes darting between Flint and Ash. Her face was turning red.

"You know each other?" Ash asked.

"That's not really important right now," Misty hissed, squirming in her seat.

Flint chuckled again. "Well, anyway, kid, if you wanna take top honors at the Pokémon League, let me give you 50 yen's worth of free advice. See, I was the gym leader myself in this city, for over twenty years…"

Ash sat bolt upright, jostling Pikachu off his chest and onto the couch. " _You're_ the Pewter City Gym Leader?!" he squeaked. "Awesome! Hey, can I challenge you?"

"I said _was_ , kid," Flint continued, still flipping his rock. "I just recently retired, passed the torch down to my son Brock. Fifteen years old and already one of the most skilled trainers I've ever seen, my boy is. Y'know, he's the youngest gym leader in the Kanto division?" His narrow eyes darted to Misty again. "Of course, we'll see how long he holds that record…"

Misty rubbed her shoulder and fixed her eyes on the ceiling. "Uh, hey, Flint, you said you had advice for my friend here?" she stammered.

Flint smiled. "Oh, right, of course! Well, my point is, sonny, you and your Pokémon may be a team, but there's more to defeating a gym leader than just teamwork. What's your team like, if you don't mind my asking?"

Ash patted Pikachu's head proudly. "I got Pikachu here, plus a Metapod and a Pidgeotto!" he beamed. "And they're pretty darned excellent in battle, too!"

"Hmm," Flint mused. "Electric, Bug, and Flying, huh? Kid, I hate to burst your bubble, but you might want to beef up your ranks a bit."

Ash's smile weakened. "Huh?"

"See, just like me, Brock is a master of Rock Pokémon," Flint continued. "One wallop from them is all it would take to knock a Pidgeotto or a Metapod out of commission. And not just Rock types, mind you - part Rock and part Ground, which means your Pikachu's Electric attacks wouldn't do a lick of damage against them in battle."

Heat began to build up on the back of Ash's head. "Are you sure?" he gulped. "That can't be right…"

"Check your type matchup chart, buddy," Misty said flatly.

"Well, I don't mean to scare you or anything," Flint said. "Just saying, it might be good to take the extra time to train some more before you go scurrying off to face my boy. He's a fighter, Brock is. Only one trainer's been able to top him since he took over - just this afternoon, actually, some kid named Gary…"

A fire erupted in Ash's chest. Gary. Gary had already beaten at least one gym. One more accomplishment for him to rub in Ash's face. Well, type advantage or not, Ash wasn't about to take any extra time to train, not when it meant giving Gary even more of a chance to pull ahead…

"Hey, my Pokémon are ready for anything!" Ash bellowed, leaping to his feet. "Which way to the gym, man? I bet I can defeat your son any day of the week!"

"Ash," Misty snarled, "it's 9:00 at night! Cool your jets and let's get some sleep first, okay? The gym will still be there in the morning!"

Flint smiled again. "Do what you want, kid," he said, "but I told you, Brock's one of the best. And I don't just say that as his father, either. It takes a special kind of skill to knock down his Pokémon's defenses."

Ash forced himself to sit back down, as Pikachu climbed onto his lap. He breathed hard through his nose, thinking about what it would mean to win his first official Pokémon League badge from a gym leader.

"If Gary can do it, so can I," he seethed.

* * *

As they bedded down for the night in the Pokémon Center's hotel, Ash made sure to triple-check the alarm clock by the futon to be certain it was set. When it beeped at 8:00 the next morning, Ash practically flew out of bed, fit to bursting with excitement. It took less than a half hour for he and Misty to wash, dress, and gobble down a hasty breakfast before he dragged her eagerly out into the streets of Pewter City, Pikachu scurrying along beside.

Before long, they found it - an intimidating building with a sturdy steel frame surrounding mighty cut stone. Engraved in the rocky face were the words Ash was looking for: PEWTER CITY POKÉMON GYM. Deep rumbling sounds came from inside. It sounded like a heated battle was underway.

"You really think you're ready?" Misty asked, more than a hint of exasperation in her voice.

Ash tugged the brim of his hat down and strode towards the door. "I don't think," he said confidently. "I know."

Misty sighed as she followed him. "I know you don't think you know," she mumbled under her breath.

To Ash's relief, the doors swung open. Inside was a wide Pokémon battle stadium - not as large as the one at the Indigo Plateau that Ash had seen on TV, but still big enough to accommodate some very large Pokémon. Three stands of stadium seating surrounded the soil-covered field, which was raised and roped off somewhat like a boxing ring. Large rocks scattered the building, almost like sprouting plants, around the walls and even in the battlefield.

And there on the field were two trainers, the taller of which Ash assumed had to be Brock. He had the same narrow eyes as his father, but his hair was an earthy brown, and he wore a forest-green sleeveless jacket lined with pockets. He certainly had the look of a professional.

In front of Brock was a jagged rocky Pokémon Ash had only seen in books, a waddling boulder with eyes and arms. It squared off against the young challenger's Pokémon, which looked just as rocky and even more bizarre - a squat quadrupedal beast covered in jagged growths with a blunt gray horn on its nose.

"Geodude!" Brock commanded. "Another Magnitude attack!"

The boulder Pokémon raised its rocky fists and slammed them hard into the earthy floor with such force that the whole arena shook. The opposing Pokémon wobbled and bounced from the shock wave, and its trainer hunched in trepidation, trying to maintain his balance. As Ash drew level with the field, he noticed the challenging trainer looked an awful lot like Brock too.

Geodude kept pounding the ground as if it were beating a drum. Finally, the jagged beast on the opposite side collapsed, too exhausted to move.

The trainer ran to the bulky Pokémon's side. "Aw, it's okay, Rhyhorn," he said softly. "You did your best…"

Brock chuckled. "He really did, Forrest. You're learning the basics pretty quick - you just gotta remember not to let your defenses down. Remember what Dad always tells us? Defense is the greatest strength of Rock Pokémon…"

"Hey!" Ash interjected. "You're Brock, right?"

Brock whirled around. Ash and Pikachu had climbed the steps leading to the ring, leaning on the ropes in anticipation. Misty stood off to the side, leaning against the bleachers.

Brock's narrow eyes seemed to light up. "Oh hey, Misty!" he called. "Dad was just telling me he ran into you at the Pokémon Center last night! How's the journey going?"

Misty coughed loudly. "Never mind that," she muttered, "I think Ash here wants to battle you."

"Darn right I do!" Ash said, clambering over the ropes into the ring. "I'm Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town, the next Pokémon League Champion in the making, and I challenge you to a gym battle!" He shook his foot free from the ropes. "That's how you gotta say it, I read that in a magazine once."

Forrest held out a Poké Ball and recalled his exhausted Rhyhorn. "Looks like you got work to do, bro. Mind if I chill on the sidelines again?"

Brock knelt down and reached into one of the pockets of his jacket, producing a plastic bag full of what looked like dirt. "Sure, if you want to," he said, doling out the dirt into his palm and offering it to Geodude, who gobbled it up. "I don't know how exciting it's gonna be, though. Probably just the same as all the others…"

"That's what you think, buddy," Ash said, twisting his hat around backwards. "I'm gonna wake you right up!"

Standing up, Brock eyed Pikachu suspiciously. "With that Pikachu? Man, I don't think so…"

Pikachu cocked its ears back, offended.

"Hey, don't knock my Pikachu!" Ash snapped. "He and I have been through a lot together these last few days! He's a beast, okay?"

Brock folded his arms in front of him. "Buddy, I don't doubt it, but the simple fact of the matter is, my Pokémon aren't vulnerable to Electric attacks. Anything your Pikachu throws at my Geodude isn't even gonna slow it down, let alone hurt it - but Geodude can definitely hurt back. That's not me talking, that's science."

Ash blinked. "...Science?"

"Type matchups!" Misty shouted from the sidelines. "Ash, how many times do I have to tell you?"

Geodude flexed its rocky muscles. Pikachu took a cautious step backwards.

"I have two Pokémon," Brock continued. "Both of them are part Rock and part Ground type. I just wanna give you fair warning, kid - do you really want to risk putting your Pikachu up against them?"

Ash swallowed hard.

"Well," he said, voice cracking a bit, "unlucky for you, I've got two other Pokémon on me, and I'll bet they can absolutely kick your Pokémon's rocky butts! I'm not gonna back down from a gym battle after I've come all this way!"

Brock smirked a bit. "All right, suit yourself," he said. "Whenever you're ready, say the word."

Ash knelt down to Pikachu. "Listen, buddy, I know it's our first gym battle and everything, but do you mind sitting this one out? I'm starting to think this guy really does know what he's talking about, and I don't want you getting hurt again…"

Pikachu nodded, then scampered away onto the sidelines. He hopped onto the bleachers, settling between Misty and Forrest.

"All right," Ash said, straightening up. "Let's get this battle started!"

Brock's Geodude lunged into the center of the battlefield, raring to go.

Ash unhooked a Poké Ball from his belt and heaved it into the air. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"

In a flash, Pidgeotto soared above the battlefield, its strong wings spread wide. Geodude watched intently as the bird Pokémon soared in an arc overhead.

"Hmm, interesting strategy," Brock mused. "Ground attacks won't hit a Flying type Pokémon...but Rock attacks sure will! Geodude, Rollout!"

In a flash, Geodude launched itself off the ground, tucking its arms in and curling into a bumpy sphere. It ricocheted off a rock in the playing field and spun wildly through the air like a fly ball, pelting Pidgeotto in the stomach. Pidgeotto squawked in pain.

"Shake it off, Pidgeotto, it's just a rock!" Ash shouted. "Quick, do...uh, something!"

Pidgeotto shot a bewildered look at its trainer. Misty buried her face in her palm again.

Ash jerked his neck nervously. "You know, whatever it was you did to Caterpie in the Viridian Forest! Work your magic, man!"

"Geodude!" Brock yelled. "Keep up that Rollout!"

The ball that was Geodude caromed off a larger rock and pelted Pidgeotto again. It seemed to hit harder this time, as Pidgeotto took a second to recover its balance. It flapped its wings wildly, kicking up the soil on the battlefield into a massive dust cloud.

Geodude whirled around for a third Rollout attack, but with the Sand-Attack impeding its vision, it missed Pidgeotto by inches. It landed in the dirt with a muted thud.

"Ha!" Ash laughed. "Don't ever underestimate me!"

Brock was unfazed. "Geodude, Rock Blast!"

With surprising speed, Geodude began scooping up mounds of earth, pressing them in its rugged hands and shooting them into the air with the force of a gun. Pidgeotto dodged and weaved, trying to avoid the projectiles. One plunked it in the chest; another grazed the side of its wing, sending the bird spinning.

"You can't tire it out forever, Ash!" Misty shouted. "You know how resilient Rock Pokémon are?"

Ash ran a worried hand over the back of his neck. "Well, give me a second, okay? I'm trying to think of a strategy here…"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Oh sure, strategy! And what makes you think Pidgeotto is gonna be able to peck through Geodude's rocky skin? You can't hurt that thing!"

Ash's face suddenly lit up. He glared at Geodude as it scooped more earth.

It was true. Geodude's skin was hard as rock. No attack that Pidgeotto could deliver would hurt it.

But not _all_ of Geodude's body was rocky…

"Pidgeotto! Go for the eyes!"

Soaring through the dust cloud, Pidgeotto shot low over the field, talons spread. Before Geodude could react, the bird's claws were in its face.

Geodude let out a low cry of pain as Pidgeotto flapped away. It tumbled backwards, clonking to a rest against one of the rocks, clutching its watering eyes and wincing. It couldn't see at all.

Brock gasped. "Geodude! Are you okay?"

Geodude's arms flopped to the dirt. It was wiped out.

Ash pumped his fist in victory. "YEAH! What'd I tell you? Brains beats brawn! What else you got in that rock pile of yours, huh, man?"

As Geodude vanished back into its Poké Ball, Brock arched one eyebrow dangerously. "Hey, buddy," he said, "don't forget your own advice - don't ever underestimate me."

He tossed another Poké Ball into the air.

Ash felt like the floor had disappeared.

The largest Pokémon he'd ever seen in his life dropped to the ground with a thundering SLAM that shook the rafters. It was a humongous snake-like monster, its body made of jointed boulders, arching nearly three stories tall. The jagged spike on its head could've punctured the lights hanging from the ceiling. It let out a bellow that nearly blew Ash off his feet.

Ash knew what this was. He'd seen it just nights before in the Pokémon League finals.

"Onix!" Brock shouted. "Rock Tomb!"

Onix reared back and belched a barrage of giant rocks. They pummeled Pidgeotto right out of the air, slamming it into the battlefield floor so hard that they left a crater.

Ash screamed. He could barely see Pidgeotto's tail sticking out from under the rock pile.

" _Pidgeotto!"_

Ash ran over, dropped to his knees, and began hurling boulders aside. Pidgeotto was knocked out cold.

He looked up. Onix towered over him like a skyscraper.

"Have you got any other Pokémon left?" Brock asked. "'Cause if not, then this is my match…"

Ash quickly recalled Pidgeotto, then reached for his belt. He did have one Pokémon left. It had pulled off a miracle before. Surely it could happen again, right?

"Go! Metapod!"

In a flash, there it was, the little crescent green chrysalis. Its shell glistened in the light.

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Misty screeched. "Metapod can't even attack! It's just a cocoon!"

The memory of the Beedrill's broken stinger was still etched in Ash's mind.

"Trust me, Misty, I know what I'm doing!" he shouted back. "Metapod's got an iron-clad shell! Nothing can get through it! All I have to do is tire Onix out, and -"  
"Onix, Slam!"

A whoosh as Onix's tail cut the air.

CRUNCH.

Metapod went flying out of the arena like a tennis ball. It smacked against the far wall of the gym, then hit the floor with a sickening crack.

Misty gasped. Pikachu squeaked in alarm. Ash swore his heart stopped.

Leaping over the ropes, Ash booked it to Metapod's side. It was worse than he could've imagined.

A huge gash was torn up the side of Metapod's shell. Its fleshy insides were clearly visible.

"Oh my God," Ash choked. The tears stung the edges of his eyes. "Oh my God, oh my God, Metapod, please don't be dead…"

He gingerly picked up the cocoon in his trembling hands.

And to his shock, something inside began to move.

From the rip, it emerged. First a head, with big red eyes and twittering antennae. Then a gorgeous pair of gossamer wings unfurled, hoisting the newly evolved butterfly Pokémon out of its chrysalis. It rose into the air, fluttering gracefully.

Ash couldn't believe his eyes. He grabbed his Pokédex and flipped it open.

" _ **Butterfree, the Butterfly Pokémon. The evolved form of Metapod. The wings are protected by a rain-repellent dust. As a result, this Pokémon can fly about even in the rain. In battle, it flaps its wings at high speed to release highly toxic dust into the air."**_

Ash practically could've floated into the air himself. The fire in his gut flared bigger than ever. He was set now…

Brock smirked again. "Nice evolution there, kid, but it takes more than a Butterfree to stop Onix! Give it another Rock Tomb!"

Onix reared back, ready to hork up another gutful of boulders.

"Butterfree!" Ash shouted. "Do your stuff!"

Flittering level with Onix's head, Butterfree beat its wings hard, unleashing a cloud of purple spores. Onix sucked down a lungful of them as it swallowed.

The boulders caught in its throat. Onix's eyes rolled wildly in its granite skull, rasping and heaving.

Brock ran a hand across his head. "Poison Powder!" He reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a small spray bottle. "Hey, buddy, if you think I didn't come prepared…"

But before Brock could react, Butterfree's antennae twitched dangerously. Its compound eyes glowed bright, and it unleashed a powerful pink wave of energy from its feelers. It nailed Onix square in the face, knocking it backwards like a whip.

"Ooh, I was afraid of that!" Forrest yelped from the sidelines. "Onix can take physical hits no problem, but a special attack like Psybeam? Not so much…"

Onix weaved to and fro, bellowing hoarsely. Finally, its heavy head succumbed to gravity, and with an earth-shaking WHAM, it tumbled to the dusty floor of the gym. It was all over.

"YEE-HAH!"

Ash practically leapt out of his skin. He jumped and twirled, punching the air in celebration. "I DID IT!" he laughed. "I WON MY FIRST GYM BATTLE! I'M UNSTOPPABLE!"

Pikachu bounded off the bench and ran to Ash's side to celebrate. Butterfree fluttered back too, bouncing merrily in midair. Instinctively, Ash leapt up and hugged his new butterfly Pokémon.

"Butterfree, you were amazing!" he beamed. "You were incredible! You…"

He gingerly withdrew his arms. "...You're still covered in _spores! Ew!_ "

And he made a mad dash towards an eyewash station in the corner of the room to rinse his tingling hands.

Brock recalled Onix, still a little baffled at the outcome of the match. "Wow," he muttered, leaning on the ropes of the ring. "He's pretty talented for a rookie."

"I don't know if 'talented' is the word I'd use," Misty said, as Ash hastily scrubbed his hands clean.

* * *

"Here ya go, Ash. These should have him up and ready to go in no time."

Brock dug in his jacket pockets and produced a Revive and a bottle of Super Potion. He tossed them to Ash, who caught them each with one hand.

"Thanks, man," he said. He hadn't expected Brock to be helping him this much - for someone he'd just defeated in battle, he was being surprisingly generous.

Everyone had congregated in the gym's locker room. Misty was off in the corner, her hands buried in her shorts pockets. Forrest knelt on a bench, polishing his Rhyhorn's rocky scales. Pidgeotto was sprawled on the tile floor, still unconscious, as Pikachu and Butterfree kept a concerned watch over their teammate. Ash carefully placed the Revive in Pidgeotto's beak and spritzed its body with the Super Potion. To his relief, the Pokémon blinked and lifted its feathered head, slowly coming around.

"And of course," said Brock, reaching inside his jacket's lapel, "I can't let you leave without this."

Ash gasped. There, in Brock's hand, was an official Pokémon League badge. Gray and metallic, it glinted in the light from the halogen bulbs overhead.

"You earned this Boulder Badge fair and square," Brock said proudly, placing the tiny pin in Ash's palm. "Congratulations, Ash - you're one step closer to that championship of yours."

Ash was struck dumb. He couldn't stop smiling. His first genuine gym badge... His mind was reeling with excitement. "Wow…" he finally managed to say. "Wow, man...thank you so much…"

"I gotta say, Ash, that was a pretty wild battle," Brock said, placing his hands on his hips. "Never expected your Pidgeotto to take down my Geodude like that. It's always nice when a challenger teaches me a thing or two."

Ash beamed, scratching Pikachu's head. "Wow! I know more than a Gym Leader? Wait 'til I tell Gary you said that! He's gonna be sick!"

Misty tugged on Brock's arm. "Brock, can I talk to you for a second?"

Stealing away into the next row of lockers, Misty sat Brock down on a low wooden bench and lowered her voice to almost a whisper. "Okay, so it's not just me, then? You can see Ash's potential too?"

"Yeah, sure, why not?" Brock replied. "Granted, he got lucky when his Metapod evolved, but that 'go for the eyes' thing, that was genius...listen, how'd you get hooked up with this kid, anyway?"

Misty shot a furtive look at the ceiling. "He ticked off the wrong flock of Spearow and then he wrecked my bike. I'll regale you with the sordid details some other time. But look - I think Ash could be a really good trainer if he just learns how to get his act together. I've seen him in action, and he's definitely got ambition, that's for sure."

Brock rubbed his chin. "I can see that. And he knows how to think outside the box in battle…"

"That's 'cause he's too stupid to know what the box even is," Misty hissed. "But I feel like if he had the proper guidance, he could absolutely go places. He's got the pieces there, he just needs to learn how to use them. I don't want to see this kid fall on his face."

Brock arched one eyebrow. "Really? Why's that?"

Misty folded her arms indignantly. "Don't get any ideas, Brock, I just know potential when I see it. I'm doing my best to help him out, but I feel like he needs a more experienced mentor than me. Someone who's spent time in the field and knows their way around...someone with more patience than I've got," she finished, rubbing one hand across her shoulder.

Brock straightened his jacket. "You mean me, right?"

"What do you say?" Misty implored. "You wanna come with us? I remember you going on last time we met about how you wanted an excuse to get out there and explore the Kanto region, see the world and all that. What's all this about, anyway, you taking over the gym for your dad? In all the time I've known you, Brock, you've never been the type to want to be cooped up in a gym. Haven't you ever told him that?"

"Told me what?"

Misty and Brock whirled around. There in the doorway was Flint, his heavy eyebrows raised so high they almost disappeared into his rumpled hair.

"Dad!" Brock yelped. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see how your battle went," he said softly. "Brock, is that true? You really want to travel?"

Brock got to his feet. All the confidence he'd shown in the arena seemed to have vanished.

"...Yeah, Dad, I guess so. I mean, I know you had your heart set on me taking over, but I'm just not the kind of trainer who can stay in one spot all the time, I guess. I've always had this dream of seeing the world and studying Pokémon in the wild...honestly, I think I'd rather be a Pokémon Breeder than a Gym Leader." He winced a bit. "You're not...disappointed, are you?"

Flint stared at his son. Then, suddenly, he pulled him close and hugged him.

"Aw, Brock, of course I'm not!" he laughed. "You know whatever you wanna do with your life, I'll support you 110%! With your kind of talent, I know you'd be a great Pokémon Breeder! You go chase your dream, son - I ran this gym for twenty years, I can hold down the fort!"

Brock smiled. "Wow, thanks, Dad… I mean, you don't mind? You just retired, after all…"

"I only retired because I thought you wanted to take over!" Flint chuckled.

"Really?" Brock said. "Heck, I only wanted to take over 'cause I thought you wanted to retire! Y'know, I mean… what with Mom gone and all…"

Flint put a hearty hand on his son's shoulder. "Oh, don't you worry about that, son," he said. "This old man's got a way of keeping his life in balance. When you get to be my age, you learn a thing or two…"

Ash and Forrest peeked around the corner. "What's going on over here?" Ash asked quizzically.

"Dad!" Forrest shouted. "How's it going?"

Flint beamed. "Going great, kiddo! Hey, guess what, big news - I'm coming back to the gym! Your big brother's got some big plans, did you hear?"

"Wow!" Forrest exclaimed. "What big plans?"

"Yeah, what big plans?" Ash echoed, as Pikachu climbed atop his head.

Brock smiled again. "Ash, I can tell just from talking to you that you've got a heck of a passion for Pokémon training. And Misty tells me she's seen your potential in battle too, and she likes what she sees."

Ash blushed a little. "Really? Misty, you said that?"

Misty looked at the floor. "Jeez, Brock, don't say it like that, it sounds weird…"

"Well, I think you've got what it takes to be the next Pokémon League Champion," Brock continued. "And I wanna help you get to the Indigo Plateau. I think all three of us together, out in the field, learning from each other, we could make an unstoppable team. What do you think, Ash? You wanna learn from a real-live gym leader? ...Er, former gym leader?" he finished with a grin.

Ash's face lit up like a billboard. "Are you _serious?!_ " he squeaked. "Heck yeah! That's awesome! Wow! I'm gonna have a gym leader on my side?! I really _am_ gonna be a champion! This is great!"

Flint put his arm around Forrest as Rhyhorn snuffed up against them. "That's your brother, Forrest," Flint said proudly. "Always full of one surprise after another!"

"So, wait," Forrest said. "If Brock's gonna be a Pokémon Breeder, who's gonna take over the gym once you retire for real someday?"

"Oh," said Flint as he ruffled his young son's hair, "I think I know a guy. He's still young, but he's definitely got his father's talents…"

Forrest grinned.


	6. Under the Mountain

In all the time he had spent anticipating his Pokémon journey, Ash had always pictured gym leaders as shadowy, stern authority figures, more like a force of nature not to be trifled with. But Brock couldn't have been further from that mental image. Not only was he willing to help in any way he could, but he invited Ash and Misty to stay the night at his family's house before they set off again.

Ash was duly impressed, not only at Brock's seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of Pokémon (according to Flint, Brock had read every book on the subject of Pokémon care in the Pewter City library by the time he was eight), but at his unexpected knack for cooking. Brock's perfectly simmered oden was the hit of the dinner table - Ash, who'd expected to be subsiding mostly on vending machine snacks and convenience store-level bento boxes from Pokémon Centers, swore that Brock's savory dish could've passed for his own mother's home cooking.

"This is what I'm gonna miss most while you're gone, bro," Forrest said between mouthfuls. "I'm gonna have to get used to Dad's instant ramen again."

The next morning, after a tender goodbye to Flint and Forrest and an assurance that they would stay in touch, Ash, Misty, and Brock set off together, Pikachu scurrying along at Ash's side, off to explore whatever else the Kanto region had in store for them.

"Y'know, Ash, if you want to get off on the right foot, this is really no better place to do it," Brock said, hoisting his bulging backpack higher up on his shoulders. "Pewter City has a reputation as a hub for science and education. Ever been to the science museum?"

Ash shook his head. "I never really got into science."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Misty said flatly. "But it sounds like it'd be a good place to swing by. I hear they've got a fossil exhibit right now?"

"Oh yeah," Brock said, smiling like a little kid. "I've been like three times since it opened last month, but I don't mind showing you guys. Fossil Pokémon are the coolest!"

Ash chuckled a bit. He was still a little surprised that a gym leader could be such an enthusiastic nerd.

The Pewter Museum of Science was a long and dignified two-story building, its ornate entrance flanked on either side by tall banners depicting fierce-looking Pokémon with sharp teeth and blade-like arms. "WHEN POKÉMON RULED THE EARTH", the banners proudly read in bold letters. "Step back in time 65 million years at the Pewter Museum!"

Inside, Ash thought his head would fall off from how far back he was craning his neck. A huge Pokémon skeleton hung from the ceiling of the atrium - gray and craggy, its strong jaw housed rows of knifelike teeth. Its arms were spread wide, with extensions that would've been wings if the beast still had flesh.

"That's an Aerodactyl," Brock said. "You wouldn't want one of them coming after you, not with those teeth."

Ash whistled, impressed. "Ah, I bet Pikachu could take him down."

Pikachu twitched his ears and looked at Ash like he was crazy.

"Actually, it's possible," Brock mused. "Researchers classified it as part Rock and part Flying type, so an Electric attack could take a pretty impressive dent out of it. 'Course, that's if you could catch one, the prevailing theory is that it was unbelievably fast..."

Misty made a face. "Blech, I don't care how fast it was, it's ugly. I'd rather have these cute little guys. They look like they would've liked the water." She pointed to a plaster model in the center of the atrium. Two tiny Pokémon sat at the edge of a rocky fountain, a blue tentacled creature peering out from within a spiral shell, and a crab-like critter with glowing red eyes.

"Omanyte and Kabuto?" Brock grinned. "Sure, they're cute until they evolve, then you've got a pair of vicious killers on your hands. Prehistoric Pokémon didn't mess around - that's what makes them so awesome."

Ash scratched his head. "Well, if these guys are all extinct, how do you know all that stuff about 'em?"

"Fossils!" Brock replied. "Archaeologists dig 'em up and study 'em. In fact," he said, lowering his voice to an excited hush, "I read in _Pokémon Science_ a few months ago that there's a project going on in that big science lab out on Cinnabar Island? They're trying to resurrect some of these guys by extracting the DNA from their fossilized remains! They could bring extinct Pokémon back to life! Isn't that cool?"

Ash tried to picture an Aerodactyl flying over the treetops in Pallet Town, snatching Pidgey out of the air in its talons. "Kinda freaky, actually," he said.

"I think it's scary," Misty shuddered. "Those scientists are crazy, they oughta just leave nature alone. They think it's a good idea to bring these monsters back? What if they got loose?"

Brock shrugged. "They're just wild Pokémon, no different than anything else. It all depends on how you treat them. But that's why everyone in the scientific community is going fossil-crazy these days. If they can resurrect these guys, then fossils will be in huge high demand. Everyone'll want one…"

"Oh, you kids don't know the half of it," said a voice from behind them.

Everyone turned. A bespectacled man sat at a nearby information kiosk, reading a newspaper. "Hey, Brock," he said. "Brought some friends this time, huh?"

"Yep, Ash and Misty hadn't seen this stuff yet," Brock said, putting a hand on their shoulders. "Whatcha readin' there, Connor? Anything interesting?"  
"Disconcerting is more like it," Connor said heavily, rustling his paper. "Police say there's been Team Rocket activity over at Mt. Moon. That's where they unearthed a bunch of the fossils for this exhibit."

Ash's stomach did a frightened backflip. "Team Rocket?"

"Yeah," Connor continued, "can you imagine the bedlam that'd ensue if they got their hands on an Aerodactyl or something?"

Ash looked up at the skeleton hanging from the ceiling. The sunlight through the window glinted off its fossilized fangs.

"Mt. Moon…" he said. "Where is that?"

Brock pointed eastward. "Past Route 3, just outside the city."

The familiar pink tinge began to rise in Misty's face. "Oh, Ash, don't you even _think_ about it!"

"Too late," Ash muttered, tugging his hat down as he and Pikachu strode towards the exit.

They were already halfway down the marble front steps when Misty and Brock caught up to them. "Ash, what do you think you're going to do?" Misty snapped. "I thought we already established last time that Team Rocket agents are too strong for you!"

"Well, I'm not gonna just stand around and let them get away with this stuff!" Ash retorted, his hands balling into fists. "Team Rocket tried to kidnap Pikachu, remember? How many other kids like me do you think they're gonna target next? And if they bring those fossils back to life, there'll be no stopping them! We gotta put an end to this before it starts!"

" _We_ don't have to do anything!" Misty growled. " _We_ have to mind our own business while the police take care of Team Rocket like they're supposed to! We're staying away from Mt. Moon, Ash, and that's it!"

Brock cleared his throat anxiously. "Well, actually, if Ash wants to challenge the Cerulean City Gym, the quickest way to get there is technically through the Mt. Moon tunnel…"

Misty's face turned from pink to white so fast, someone could've flipped a switch. "Well...well, c'mon, does he _have_ to challenge the Cerulean Gym?"

"Well, listen," Brock continued, "that tunnel is monitored, it's got security and cameras and stuff. If any Team Rocket guys try anything funny there, the local rangers will know, and they'll act fast. I think we'll be perfectly safe."

Ash blinked. "You promise?"

"Sure I promise," Brock said as they descended the stairs. "And if we do run into trouble, don't forget, I've got Onix on my side. One look at him and those Rockets would run screaming for the exit."

* * *

Thus the three trainers headed east towards the city limits, focused on moving forward along their journey. It didn't occur to any of them to look back.

If it had, they might've seen the Meowth-shaped balloon hovering above the museum.

"How do you like that?" Meowth said, chucking the disc-shaped listening device aside and removing his headphones. "There's a Team Rocket summit at Mt. Moon, and the twerp's walking right into it-nya!"

James rubbed the back of his neck, confounded. "A Team Rocket summit?" he asked. "Well, that's weird. How come the boss didn't tell us about it? Wouldn't you think he'd want all of his agents there?"

"We're not exactly in his good graces right now," Jessie murmured, putting a hand to her crimson lips. "But if we want to really impress him after that last bungle of ours outside the gym, we'd better go help out our fellow agents, wouldn't you say? I think the boss would be very pleased to see us take that kind of initiative!"

James' face broke into an anticipatory grin. "And the little twerp and his Pikachu will be there too! It'll be a golden opportunity to snag it for the boss! We can't lose!"

"Exactly," said Jessie coolly. "We'll be killing two Pidgey with one stone."

Meowth crossed his arms. "As a Pokémon, I find that offensive-nya."

* * *

Route 3 wound through a valley rife with boulders and patches of grass. It was prime training ground for Ash to explore, and as Pikachu tangled with the local Pidgey and Nidoran, Brock and Misty hung back and took the opportunity to observe Ash's battling style.

"He pays attention to his surroundings," Brock muttered, as Ash commanded Pikachu to leap from a nearby rock, whacking a male Nidoran from behind with his tail.

Pikachu suddenly recoiled in pain. A large poisonous welt throbbed where its tail had struck the Nidoran's spiny back.

"Yeah," Misty sighed as Brock pulled an Antidote from his pocket. "It'd be nice if he paid attention to his opponent, though."

The valley was bathed in mid-afternoon shadow as the trainers reached the end of Route 3 and the regal face of Mt. Moon. Its snow capped peak scraped the sky above them. A rope-lined path led to the mouth of a large cave, next to which was a low building that Ash knew must've been a Pokémon Center.

"Heal up, guys," Brock said. "It's a long walk through."

After a quick checkup for everyone's Pokémon (hampered slightly by Brock making small talk with the Pokémon Center's beautiful nurse), the trio set off into the cave. Rope hung from hooks hammered into the rock wall to guide their way, and small blue lights illuminated the path around their feet. Pikachu scurried up Ash's back and clung to his head, glancing every which way at the craggy rocks.

"How far does this tunnel go?" Ash asked, his voice bouncing back at him from the walls.

"You'll see," came Brock's reply from behind him.

A shriek rent the air, making Ash and Brock jump. " _SOMETHING JUST TOUCHED ME!"_ Misty yelped.

Ash whirled around. A tiny bug-eyed orange Pokémon skittered across the path, close to Misty's feet. A pair of mushrooms was sprouting out of the back of its segmented exoskeleton.

"It's just a Paras," Brock assured her. "It's just looking for a place to plant more mushrooms."

Misty shook her head, her ponytail flapping wildly. " _AAAHH,_ I don't like this! Wasn't there like an express bus we could've taken or something? This place is full of freaky Pokémon and I hate it!"

Ash rolled his eyes and kept moving. "Misty, if you're gonna freak out whenever we bump into a Pokémon in here, this is gonna take us forever."

"Shut up!" Misty snapped. "This was your idea, Ash, and I swear if something attacks me in here, I'll never forgive-"

But she stopped short. They all did when they heard it.

Squeaking sounds echoed in the dark distance. Misty began to breathe more heavily.

Then they came to a large side cavern, deep and wide, with a thick iron railing protecting the edges of the path. The squeaking was almost deafening in here. The cavern was pitch black, but Ash could barely discern hundreds of stalactites stuck to the ceiling.

Or were they stalactites? They seemed to be moving…

Suddenly, a small blue blur swooped low over their heads. Misty shrieked and flailed her arms wildly. " _GET IT AWAY FROM ME! EW!"_

Ash ducked low and looked up. It was a bat-like Pokémon with no visible eyes on its face, its purple wings flapping madly trying to keep itself aloft. It bonked around the ceiling of the cave, squeaking and twitching. Ash flipped the Pokédex open.

" _ **Zubat, the Bat Pokémon. It has no eyes. Instead, it uses ultrasonic waves to identify and approach targets. It forms colonies in perpetually dark places."**_

"Hey, it's okay!" Ash cried as Misty kept flailing. "It's not gonna bite you! It can't even see you!"

" _I don't care!"_ Misty squeaked, her voice almost as high as Zubat's. " _Somebody knock it out already! AAAA!"_

Zubat fluttered low, inspecting Pikachu, who shot a few warning sparks from his cheeks in protest. Then it soared up again, diving straight for Misty's head. She screamed again, ducking and throwing her arms up over her face…

But Zubat sailed right past her. And to Ash's surprise, it landed right on Brock's outstretched arm.

"Here ya go, buddy," Brock said calmly, holding out a handful of reddish-brown pellets. Zubat squeaked at them, then tucked in its wings and bent down to eat right out of Brock's hand.

Misty slowly stood up, shaking. Ash ran a hand over his shocked face. "Whoa! Brock, how'd you do that?"

Brock smiled as Zubat continued to eat. "I've come to Mt. Moon before, to train Geodude and Onix, and these Zubat are everywhere in here," he said. "So I thought I'd bring food for them, just in case. See, Zubat are normally carnivores and they suck their prey's blood -" Misty let out a low moan " - so I mixed a special blend of protein-rich food that I know they wouldn't be able to resist."

Zubat finished the food, then fluttered further up Brock's arm and nuzzled his head. In spite of the Pokémon's freakish appearance, Ash had to admit the sight was kind of cute.

"Hey, look at that!" Ash laughed. "He likes you!"

"Yeah, see?" Brock said, scratching Zubat behind its large ears. "Sometimes you don't need a Poké Ball and a battle to get a new Pokémon on your side."

Misty choked. "Wait, _WHAT?!_ "

"Yeah, I like this little guy!" Brock chuckled. "I always kinda wanted a Zubat, they're fascinating little creatures. What do you say, buddy, you wanna come with?"

Zubat squeaked and fluttered up to the top of Brock's head.

"Oh, this is just wonderful," Misty groaned. "First Ash with that bug-eyed Butterfree of his, and now this? Ugh, I'm gonna have a heart attack before I'm 13…"

* * *

The air grew damper and colder as they worked their way deeper into the cave. Ash shivered a bit as he rubbed his arms. He was starting to wish he'd packed a long-sleeved coat after all. Still, it couldn't distract from his excitement. Deep within Mt. Moon like this, he was sure to spot some rare Pokémon eventually.

What was distracting Ash, however, was Misty's shrieking.

" _Will you just put him in a Poké Ball already?!"_ she yelped at Brock, as Zubat flittered so close that its wings brushed her ponytail.

Brock grinned. "Misty, Zubat isn't going to hurt you! If anything, he's gonna be a big help getting through here - with his sonar, we'll never get lost."

"You know a better way to make sure we never get lost?" Misty gulped, brushing her bangs out of her wild eyes. "If we'd never come into this stupid tunnel in the first place!"

Ash smirked mischievously. "Ah, quit your whining, Misty, this place is actually kind of cool! Right, Pikachu?"

But Pikachu didn't respond. Ash glanced down.

Pikachu's ears were twitching wildly, and his tail wagged faster than Ash had ever seen it go. And the Pokémon's enraptured gaze was fixed on a corner of the cave. Pikachu seemed overjoyed at something…

And when Ash noticed what it was, his heart leapt.

A small pink Pokémon was poking around in the corner, apparently not wanting to come out. Its cute little face wore an expression of confusion as it held one stubby arm to its mouth.

Misty's fear suddenly vanished as she gasped. "Oh my God!" she squeaked. "Is that a _Clefairy?!_ "

Ash clicked the Pokédex open.

" _ **Clefairy, the Fairy Pokémon. With its magical and cute appeal, it has many admirers and is popular as a pet. However, it is rare and only found in certain areas."**_

Pikachu bounded over to get a closer look, his eyes wide and shimmery. Before any of the trainers could react, Clefairy bolted, disappearing down the tunnel. To Ash's surprise, Pikachu took off after it, squeaking excitedly.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, lunging to grab his companion. "What the heck's wrong with you?"

But Pikachu was surprisingly quick to wriggle out of Ash's grip. He vanished down the tunnel after Clefairy and didn't come back.

Ash's jaw dropped. "Jeez! Why'd he run away like that?!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Misty said. "He's in love!"

Ash's eyes nearly popped out of his head. " _Love?!_ He's gonna get himself lost if he's not careful! This place is huge! We gotta go after him!"

"Oh, don't worry," Brock said. "We'll find him. Zubat, you think you can locate Pikachu?"

Zubat nodded as it fluttered into the air. It squeaked loudly, bouncing sonar down the tunnel. Then it took off.

"I think he's got a lock on him!" Brock said, as the trainers ran after.

Descending deeper down the path, keeping an eye on Zubat as it flew, Ash brushed his bangs out of his eyes in frustration. "Man, I take back what I said about this place being cool," he grumbled. "I thought Pikachu knew better than to bolt off without me like that…"

"Oh, go easy on him!" Misty shot back. "Love makes you do stupid things, even if you're a Pokémon. Honestly, haven't either of you boys ever been in love before?"

Brock gave a satisfied little smirk. "Oh, I assure you, Misty, I've broken many hearts over the years."

Misty made an unimpressed spluttering sort of noise. "Yeah, okay. Ash, what about you?"

Ash gulped. His cheeks were suddenly very hot. "Who, me? Oh, jeez, I don't know...love? I don't think I've ever...I mean, when I was younger, there was this girl at summer camp who I got along pretty good with, but -"

To Ash's immense relief, Zubat began squeaking wildly up ahead. Light was shining from around a curve in the tunnel.

"I think Zubat found them!" Brock shouted. "C'mon, this way!"

The three trainers rounded the corner, into the light.

And instantly, they realized their mistake.

"You won't get away with this!" a weak, quivering voice whined. "People will know you're down here!"

Another voice, deeper and more sinister. "With the pile of stolen security cameras we've got stashed in our digger? I don't think so, buddy."

Ash gawked at the scene in front of him. Pikachu was there, all right - crouched behind a boulder, so as not to be noticed by the crowd of Team Rocket grunts gathered around the massive drilling machine that had bored a huge hole through the path. Its powerful headlights lit up the tunnel as if they were still outside.

Thankfully, the black-clad grunts hadn't noticed Ash and his friends. They had rounded on a wiry bespectacled trainer, cowering against the wall in fear. Beside him was a small yellow Pokémon with a tough brick-like hide.

"Now, I'm only going to say this one more time, you nosy little nerd," one of the grunts snarled. "Give up those fossils!"

The nerd shook his stringy hair out of his reddened eyes, clutching a pair of grayish-brown rocks close to his chest. "Never!" he bellowed, his voice cracking. "My Sandshrew and I found these fair and square! We're not gonna let you take them!"

"It's not a matter of letting us!" said a familiar female voice from the back of the crowd. Ash had to stifle a gasp as he recognized the two Rocket agents who'd attacked him before, the only ones in the crowd clad in white. Their Meowth was perched on the fender of the drilling machine, trying to look important.

Jessie held up a small sack filled with glittering silver stones. "We'll make it easy for you," James said confidently. "Just throw 'em in here with all the Moon Stones we found! All of them together should fetch millions on the market!"

One grunt ran an exasperated hand down his face. "Yeah, just blab our whole plan while you're at it, why don't you…" he muttered.

The nerd backed up against the wall. "Forget it!" he yelped. "I'm gonna get out of here and I'm gonna tell the police on you, and then you're gonna feel sorry!"

The grunts burst into derisive laughter.

"Oh, I don't think so, jerk," one grunt growled, clutching a Poké Ball. "That's not how it's gonna go at all…"

Ash and Pikachu leapt out from behind the boulder. "Pikachu!" Ash bellowed. "Stop him!"

The grunt barely had time to turn before Pikachu unleashed a paralyzing Thundershock attack. It struck the grunt square in the chest, knocking him for a loop.

"Hey!" Meowth shouted. "It's the twerp! I knew he'd show up-nya!"

The rest of the grunts rounded on Ash, Misty, and Brock. "More intruders?" one grunt said. "Looks like we're gonna have to deal with all of you, then…"

Before Ash could react, Misty dug into her backpack and hurled a Poké Ball with alarming speed. "Starmie!" she shouted. "Water Pulse!"

In a glittering flash, Starmie burst out of its ball and unleashed a massive burst of water from all its appendages at once. The wave pelted the crowd of grunts, knocking them all to the ground.

"Cover your ears, guys!" Brock warned. Then: "Zubat! Supersonic!"

Fluttering high, Zubat emitted an earsplitting squeal that sent visible waves cutting through the air. Ash winced, hands clamped over his ears, as the sonic wave washed over the grunts. They writhed in agony, clutching their heads.

The nerd scrambled to his feet, pocketing his fossils. His Sandshrew darted around, looking for a quick exit.

"You're not getting away from us that easy, losers!" Jessie proclaimed, leaping onto a nearby rock and unhooking a Poké Ball. "Ekans, go! Poison Sting!"

"Koffing, Smokescreen!" James bellowed, hurling a ball of his own.

Ekans and Koffing leapt into the light. Ekans lunged at Pikachu, belching up poisonous saliva, while Koffing hovered in circles and began flooding the tunnel with thick black gas.

Pikachu deftly dodged the Poison Sting attack. Ekans reared up to attack again, but Starmie whirled around in midair and pelted the snake from behind, sending it flying. It smacked against the rock wall, and Zubat took the opportunity to sink its fangs into its scaly body. Ekans screeched in pain.

"Ash!" Misty coughed as Koffing's Smokescreen filled the air. "We gotta get rid of this smoke! Use Pidgeotto's Whirlwind!"

Ash shielded Pikachu with his body as he unhooked Pidgeotto's Poké Ball. "What-wind?" he asked quizzically.

"It's an attack!" Misty screamed, as Starmie spun wildly through the smog. "Just do it already!"

In a flash, Pidgeotto appeared. "Pidgeotto," Ash commanded, "do that wind thing!"

Pidgeotto looked baffled, but it clearly got the gist of Ash's command, as it began flapping its wings rapidly. The smoke dispersed, revealing Koffing near the ceiling. Starmie whipped around and whacked it out of the air.

"Why the heck do we keep getting our butts kicked by a couple of kids?!" James shouted above the melee. "Meowth! Don't just stand there, get your paws on Pikachu!"

Meowth bounded off the driller and ran towards Pikachu, claws extended. "Time for a game of cat and mouse-nya!" he yowled.

"Sandshrew, Dig!"

Meowth tumbled end over end through the air as Sandshrew burst out of the ground beneath it. Ash looked up to see the nerd with an exhilarated grin on his face.

Jessie shrieked as Meowth landed on her. She stumbled backwards, dropping her bag. Moon Stones spilled all across the floor of the cave.

"Not the Moon Stones!" James yelped. "We stole those fair and square!"

He made a frantic grab to pick the stones up. Instead, Pidgeotto flew low and whacked him in the face with its outstretched wings, knocking him flat.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ash saw a flurry of movement. Something pink had bounded out from behind the drilling machine.

"Clefairy!" Ash shouted. Pikachu's ears perked up again.

Brock gasped. "Oh my gosh! If it gets near those Moon Stones…"

Before he could finish, it happened. The Clefairy leapt feet-first into the spilled pile. Instantly, its body began to glow. To Ash's astonishment, it grew - its ears elongated, its stubby wings extended regally.

The glow faded. Clefairy looked different now; more powerful.

" _ **Clefable, the Fairy Pokémon. The evolved form of Clefairy. It has an acute sense of hearing. It can easily hear a pin being dropped 1,000 meters away. A timid Pokémon that is rarely seen, it will run and hide the moment it senses people."**_

Clefable glanced around at the scene in front of it. The group of Team Rocket grunts were finally starting to come to. One of them leapt to his feet and pointed.

"Hey! A Clefable! I bet the boss would want one of those!"

The rest of the grunts moved towards it, each one clutching a Poké Ball. Ash gasped. "NO!"

But Clefable didn't bolt. Instead, to Ash's confusion, it started ticking its arms back and forth rhythmically. Almost like a…

"Metronome!" Misty shouted, grabbing the front of Ash's shirt. "Get down!"

FOOSH.

From behind the rock, Ash saw the cavern light up orange. A sudden blast of heat licked his face. The Rockets screamed.

"Fire Blast!" Brock gasped. "Man, that's gonna ruin their week…"

Ash peered curiously out from behind his hiding place. Clefable kept ticking its arms, and suddenly a massive bolt of electricity exploded out of its body. The smoldering Rocket agents scrambled for cover as the bolt split, zapping everything in its path. The massive digger machine shuddered and creaked, incapacitated from the shock.

A hand slapped on Ash's shoulder. He looked up into the oily, specky face of the nerd, clutching his precious fossils close, his Sandshrew clinging to his back. "Hey, man, shouldn't we get outta here?"

"Darn right we should!" Misty squeaked. "C'mon, let's beat it!"

The four trainers and their Pokémon scrambled back up the path towards safety. Behind them, Clefable kept merrily rocking its arms, its body suddenly glowing white again.

The Rockets gingerly got to their feet. Jessie and James' faces went pale at the sight of what was about to happen.

"Oh," Meowth whimpered, "this has been a _real_ bad day-nya."

KABOOM.

The Explosion attack ripped the cavern apart. Ash, Misty, Brock, and the nerd all dived to the floor as the shockwave reverberated through the tunnel.

Trembling, Ash got to his feet, Pikachu peering around his ankles. Despite the situation, he couldn't help feeling a little sorry - Pokémon thief or not, no one deserved to have all that happen to them. "Are they okay?"

Rubble coated the floor of the smoldering cavern, now twice as big as it had been; dust swirled softly in the air. Streaks of dim sunlight beamed through a wide shaft carved by the force of the digger machine being blown out through the rock. Again, the Rocket agents were all mysteriously gone.

And there, in the middle of the dusty aftermath, stood Clefable, still with the same blissful grin on its pink face. It took one look at the horde of trainers and bounded away into the cave, disappearing among the darkness.

Brock put his hands on his hips triumphantly as his Zubat fluttered onto his shoulder. "And that," he said, "is why you never underestimate your opponent."

Pikachu slumped forward, heartbroken, its ears drooping.

"Aw, it's okay, Pikachu," Misty said consolingly. "You'll find her again someday, I bet!"

The nerd pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Unlikely," he snorted. "Clefairy and Clefable are an exceptionally rare species found only in this area in the Kanto region, and the odds of encountering them are approximately one hundred to -"

"Hey buddy," Misty interrupted, one eyebrow cocked dangerously. "What side of the mountain did you come from?"

The nerd gulped. "Um, Cerulean City."

Ash hoisted his backpack further up his shoulder and brushed some dust out of his hair. "Perfect. What do you say you and your Sandshrew dig us back up and out of here before we have to have any more fun?"


	7. Flowers in the Mist

Dusk was spreading across Route 4 as Ash, Misty, and Brock emerged from Mt. Moon at last. Their nerdy benefactor bid them farewell and thank-you, then retreated back into the cave with his Sandshrew to keep looking for fossils.

"Just as well," Misty muttered as the nerd trotted into the depths again. "He seems like he's not a big fan of sunlight."

Indeed, sunlight was fading fast, and the three trainers agreed to bed down for the night. Brock set up a swift campfire in a clearing, and with his massive rocky Onix curled around it, the heat radiating off the Pokémon's stone body kept the evening chill away.

"How about that Clefable, huh?" Ash said between wolfing down his dinner. "Man, I wish I could've caught her. How awesome would it be to have a Pokémon on my team that could do all those attacks?"

Brock smiled, leaning against Onix's rugged body. "That was technically all one attack, Ash. That's how Metronome works - it focuses a Pokémon's brainpower and unleashes any number of moves at random."

Misty glared at Ash over the lip of her bowl. "So you really don't need a Clefable on your team, Ash, since random attacks are kind of already your style."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ash shot back, brow furrowed. He had a feeling he should be insulted somehow.

Misty tapped one chopstick impatiently. "It means that you still don't know your Pokémon's movesets, Ash. You can't just hope to win every battle by going 'Pikachu, do that electric thing' every time."

Pikachu glanced from Misty to Ash, as if nodding in agreement.

Ash rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, I'm more of an instinct guy, y'know? I never really had time to look up all that nerdy stuff. I mean, you can't expect me to memorize _every_ move there is, can you?"

"Oh, there's nothing nerdy about understanding your Pokémon's abilities, Ash," Brock said. "If anything, it's the most important part of being a competitive trainer. Knowing which moves to use and when can be the deciding factor between victory and defeat."

"And which of those two would _you_ rather be known for?" Misty jeered.

Ash bit his lip and looked down at Pikachu. The Pokémon looked back, the campfire reflected in its eyes.

"Yeah," Ash said solemnly. "When you put it like that, I guess it does make sense. But how do I even find out which moves my Pokémon can learn?"

Misty grinned. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Ash, but I do believe you have a remarkable little electronic gadget in your pocket filled with everything that Professor Oak has ever learned about Pokémon. And from what I hear, he's supposed to be pretty smart."

Ash pulled his Pokédex out of his jacket pocket. "All that stuff is in here too?"

"Might make for a little productive nighttime reading," Brock said as he stood up and stretched. "Just don't forget to actually get some sleep when you're done learning there, bud - we gotta make it to Cerulean City tomorrow morning!"

The grin suddenly vanished from Misty's face.

* * *

Salty sea air met Ash's nose as they entered the Cerulean City limits. There was a welcoming, bustling atmosphere about the place, and Ash couldn't fathom why Misty was so grumpy about being there.

But it didn't matter. Ash had more important things to focus on - like the wealth of information he'd uncovered in his Pokédex since last night. True to Brock and Misty's word, every Pokémon entry in the computer had a list of known moves. Ash's mind was teeming with excited possibilities as he read all the things that Pikachu could do.

"Thunder Wave," Ash read. "Well, that doesn't do damage, that's no good...but ooh! Thunderbolt! Dude, that sounds epic! Imagine how that Cerulean Gym leader is gonna feel when you rain Thunderbolts on 'em from the heavens, huh, Pikachu?"

Pikachu perched on Ash's shoulder and cocked its head at Ash's Pokédex screen, intrigued.

Brock smiled. "Thunderbolt's a more advanced attack. You gotta teach it to Pikachu first."

"Teach him?" Ash asked quizzically. He turned to his Pokémon. "You mean you don't know all of these attacks yet, buddy?"

"Neither did you," Misty grumbled under her breath.

Misty's mood remained exceptionally foul as the trio reached the Pokémon Center. The atrium bustled with trainers and orderlies, all chatting pleasantly amongst each other. Ash bounded up to the counter, Pikachu in tow.

"I got a big gym battle coming up today!" he beamed to the nurse. "I'm gonna need my Pokémon team to be in top condition!"

The nurse smiled back as her Chansey assistant wheeled a cart around the front of the desk. "Certainly, son! Just have a seat in the waiting area and we'll get your Pokémon all freshened up."

Misty hung back near the front door, crossing her arms and standing as if she were trying to shrink into the wall. She covered one side of her face with her hand and stared intently at her shoes.

"Misty? Is that you?"

Too late. The nurse had spotted her after all.

"It is!" she chirped. "Misty, good to see you back again! Tell me, how'd the little training expedition go?"

Misty shuffled awkwardly. "Fine," she mumbled. Her face was slowly turning pink.

Ash blinked. "You know Misty too?"

"Oh, just about everyone in Cerulean City knows Misty!" the nurse said brightly. "She and her sisters are very popular among the Pokémon training community, after all."

A gentleman by the counter looked up from his newspaper. "Misty!" he called. "I haven't seen you in weeks! The wife and I were starting to wonder about you!"

"Misty!" shouted a youngster by the PC in the corner. "Tell your sisters thanks for the rematch! I'll be stronger next time, I promise!"

Brock chuckled. "Your reputation precedes you, doesn't it?"

Misty's face was beet-red now. She dashed out the front door and didn't leave the front steps until Ash's party was healed.

* * *

"C'mon, Misty, what the heck is your problem?"

All the way across town, Ash didn't let up. Still, Misty remained resolutely stubborn.

"My problem is you won't shut up and mind your own business," she snapped, eyes fixed on the ground as she walked. "Look, do you really need to challenge this gym today? Can't you come back in, I don't know, a couple of months or a year or something?"

Brock put a hand on Misty's shoulder. "C'mon, Misty, there's nothing to be worried about. You've been out training for, what, four weeks now? That should be plenty of time."

"...What if it's not?" Misty squeaked, her voice quivering. "What if it's still not good enough for them?"

Ash's face twisted in confusion. "Good enough for who? Who are you training for? What, are you planning to take the gym challenge too?"

Brock's eyebrows practically disappeared into his hair. "Wait...Misty, you haven't told him?"

"Told me _what?!_ " Ash yelped. "I feel like I'm way out of the loop here…"

But then they rounded the corner and found their destination.

A massive round building, with a shining glass roof and a fiberglass statue of a sleek white Dewgong perched merrily on the overhang above the entrance. Emblazoned across its facade were the words "CERULEAN CITY POKÉMON GYM". A pair of large glistening water fountains decorated the landscape in front of the building, their pools dotted with lotus blossoms.

And there, out front, sunbathing among the colorful topiaries that lined the path to the door, were three young women dressed in highly fashionable attire. Ash figured they must've been in their mid-to-late teens. And each one had an astonishingly familiar face.

"Misty!" the tallest of the girls shouted, her long blonde hair bobbing as she jumped off her chair. "Violet, Lily, look! Our darling sister is back!"

Ash's eyes widened. "Sister?!"

The other two girls shrieked joyfully. Together, the three of them sprinted across the topiary towards Ash and his friends. Misty stood ramrod-straight, her fingers shuddering halfway between claws and fists.

"Daisy," she hissed through gritted teeth. "You're looking well."

Daisy giggled. "That makes three of us! C'mon, Misty, it's been a month! Aren't you thrilled to be back home with your adoring older siblings again?"

"So tell us," said Violet, tossing her blue hair importantly, "did you get any stronger like you promised?"

"Yeah," said Lily, absentmindedly twiddling her pink locks with one finger, "that Staryu that Daisy loaned you, did you teach it anything decent?"

Misty breathed hard through her nose. "I got plenty strong, you guys. Stronger than any of you."

All three sisters burst into laughter. It wasn't playful laughter, either - Ash detected a hint of derision.

"Oh, Misty," Daisy cooed. "Still as hotheaded as ever. Don't you know a gym leader has to be sweet and kindhearted? You're never going to inherit the gym from us with that kind of attitude."

" _Inherit the gym?!"_ Ash shouted, almost knocking Pikachu off his shoulder. "Wait - Misty, _your sisters_ are the Cerulean City Gym leaders?!"

Violet gasped. "And look! Misty, you've found a boyfriend! Ooh, what's your name, sweetheart?" she chirped, pinching Ash's cheek. Ash winced and tried to squirm away.

"Did you tame our sister's wild heart?" Lily asked eagerly. "Or does she still scream even when she kisses you?"

" _SHUT UP!"_ Misty shrieked, blushing deeper than ever. "Ash is just my _friend_ , okay?"

Brock crossed his arms and glared at the sisters. "Sheesh, you girls got a lot nastier since the last time I saw you, didn't you?"

Daisy grinned sneakily at Brock. "It's all in good fun, Brocky-dear. You've got a little brother, you know how it is, I'm sure."

"Brock doesn't make his little brother feel like dirt," Misty half-whispered into her chest. Ash noticed her eyes were starting to water.

"Uh, hey, listen!" Ash interjected. "You guys are the gym leaders, right? Well, I'm Ash Ketchum, I'm a trainer from Pallet Town, and I challenge you to a gym battle!"

Violet, Lily, and Daisy all squealed in unison. "Ooh, he wants to challenge us!" Daisy giggled. "That's adorable! Misty, you hold onto this one, he's a real keeper!"

"How 'bout I hold onto your throat, Daisy," Misty growled, as the group headed for the front door.

* * *

Ash couldn't tell if this was a gym or an aquarium. Maybe both.

The walls weren't walls so much as they were floor-to-ceiling fish tanks, filled with exotic Water Pokémon that Ash had never encountered in person before. He was flipping quickly through his Pokédex trying to look them all up - tiny blue Horsea, floating lazily backwards and spurting clouds of dark ink from their trumpet-like mouths. Graceful Goldeen and regal Seaking, their tail fins billowing majestically as they swam. A Shellder that sat on the silty tank floor, opening and closing its bivalve shell and sticking its tongue out at anyone who gawked at it.

And a pure white Seel, dancing and flipping through the water as it pawed playfully at the glass. Misty's sisters giggled vapidly at this display; Misty herself was facing away, hands jammed in her pockets, looking like she'd just swallowed a mouthful of Tentacool venom.

"Aw, who's a happy Seel?" Daisy gurgled, tapping lightly on the glass. "You are! Yes you are!"

Lily glanced over her shoulder. "Seel's our favorite out of all of them. Not to mention the strongest. Remember that time he whooped your Starmie's butt with that Aurora Beam attack, Misty?" she sneered joyfully.

Misty didn't say anything, but her shoulders trembled.

"Well, that was a long time ago," Brock cut in. "Misty's Pokémon are way stronger now. You should see how much she's grown as a trainer since she left!"

Violet sniffed. "Oh, that's such a nice thing for you to say, Brock, but I think we know our sister better than you. Sure, she talks a big game, but one of these days she's bound to face the facts that talent only belongs to a select few in this family."

Misty whirled around, her eyes flaming.

"That's all I've heard out of you three for twelve years," she snarled. "And now you all think you're so high and mighty just because Mom and Dad left _you_ in charge? Well, listen, _none_ of you care about Pokémon training the way I do! I _trained_ my Starmie myself! I didn't inherit him like _you_ three did! You don't know the first thing about how to run this gym! Heck, if any of you tried to swim in that pool, I bet all the air in your head would float you right back to the top!"

Violet, Lily, and Daisy all broke into that nasty laugh of theirs again.

"Oh, wow, Misty, you sure showed us!" Daisy chortled, wiping away a tear. "How long did you take coming up with that one?"

Misty's face flushed a furious crimson. "You never give me a chance!" she spat. "I'm just as good as Mom and Dad are! And I'm more qualified to run this gym than any of you, and you all know it!"

The back of Ash's neck itched with sweat. He glanced anxiously at Brock, who shrugged futilely. Pikachu hid behind his trainer's leg. How were they going to put a stop to all this?

"Um, hey!" Ash piped up. "Look, I'm sure everyone here is a great trainer in their own way! So, uh, why don't we talk about something else? I mean, I still gotta have that gym battle, after all…"

Daisy's eyes narrowed. An unsettling grin crept across her face.

"That's right, isn't it?" she said slowly. "You did challenge the Cerulean City Gym leader."

She turned to face Misty. "So you really think you're qualified to run things, huh, li'l sis? Well, I tell you what - it's your lucky day. We're gonna give you that chance you've been waiting for."

The blush drained from Misty's face like someone had pulled a stopper.

"...Wh-what?"

Daisy, Violet, and Lily crossed their arms and glared sneakily down at their little sister. "We're gonna see how much you learned on your little training expedition, Misty," Daisy cooed. "Today's your very first honest-to-goodness gym battle. And your boyfriend over here gets to be your lucky challenger."

Ash's eyes could've popped out. "Wait! You want me to battle _Misty?!_ " he gulped. Then, hastily, he added "Also, I'm not really her boyfriend…"

"And if you win," Violet added as Misty trembled, "you'll prove to us that you really are as talented as you claim to be."

"But of course," Lily breathed, "that _would_ mean your boyfriend doesn't get his Cascade Badge. Don't worry, though, I'm sure he won't take it _too_ hard."

Misty mouthed wordlessly, her lips trying desperately to make sounds.

"Well, you may not be a master of Water Pokémon," Daisy said, "but you sure gasp for air like one."

* * *

Light glistened off the rippling surface of the pool, sending wiggly refractions dancing across the stadium ceiling. Half a dozen wide platforms floated strategically on the surface, sturdy enough for most species of Pokémon to stand on. Brock, Violet, Lily, and Daisy all took a seat on the sidelines; Brock was the only one not wearing the sort of expression that suggested Christmas had come early.

The doors clicked open. Ash and Misty's footfalls echoed back at them from the cavernous rafters above. Each step felt like a punch in the gut.

They stopped at the edge of the pool. The smell of salt and chemicals clung to Ash's nose. His lip twitching, he stole a quick glance at Misty. She didn't look at him. For all he knew, she couldn't.

"Um, hey…" he began. That was all he could think of.

Misty turned to glare at him. Ash half-expected daggers to literally shoot from her eyes.

He coughed. "Listen...um, I know how much this means to you, Misty…" Another cough. "And, well...if you really want, I can help you out a bit. Y'know...as a friend and all…"

Silence. Misty's hands balled into furious fists. For everything that had happened to him since he left home, this was the most real fear Ash had felt yet.

" _Don't you dare go easy on me, Ash Ketchum._ "

Misty's voice was a harsh, guttural whisper that could've sent knives through Ash's heart.

She grabbed two Poké Balls out of her backpack. " _Because you better believe I'm not going to go easy on you,"_ she rasped. And without another word, she whirled around and strode to the far end of the pool with the presence of a freight train.

Ash gulped, then dashed to the opposite end. Pikachu scampered beside him, his ears tucked back.

"All right, you two!" Daisy shouted from the sidelines. "Ash, I presume you know how gym battles work. Misty, you're Little Miss Know-It-All, I'm guessing you're probably aware too," she added with a smirk. "So let's get this thing started!"

With the force of a catapult, Misty hurled a Poké Ball into the air. "Staryu, GO!"

Staryu burst forth, landing upright on one of the floating platforms in the pool. Its gem glistened as it flexed its pointy brown appendages.

Ash knelt down. "You ready to do this, Pikachu?"

Pikachu nodded in determination.

"Then let's give it our best!" Ash shouted. "Go, Pikachu! Lead with...um…"

As Pikachu bounded over the water onto the nearest platform, Ash hastily pulled out his Pokédex. "...Uh, Thundershock! That's what it's called!"

"Staryu!" Misty bellowed. "Rapid Spin!"

Before Pikachu could fully charge its attack, Staryu shot into the air like a shuriken and whacked Pikachu across the face. Pikachu stumbled, nearly toppling backwards into the water.

"Steady there, Pikachu!" Ash called. "You've got this!"

Pikachu shook its head, braced itself, and arched its back. A dazzling array of sparks shot forth from its body, connecting with Staryu's fleshy hide. The starfish flailed wildly as it plummeted onto a platform, sending up a splash.

"You're stronger than that, Staryu!" Misty shouted. "Water Gun!"

Staggering to its star-tip feet, Staryu leaned and launched a torrent of water from its upper appendage. Pikachu leapt from one platform to another, but the torrent was like a firehose, waving wildly.

Ash frantically scanned the Pokédex trying to find another useful attack Pikachu knew. "Ooh, this one sounds good!" he chirped. "Pikachu, Quick Attack!"

Pikachu reared back on its haunches and sprang off the platform with the speed of a bullet.

CRACK.

Its shoulder connected with the gem in Staryu's core. Staryu tumbled backwards off the platform, splashing into the water. It bobbed to the surface, a hairline crack visible in its gem, which had dimmed to a dull pink. It didn't move.

Misty said nothing, but her breathing was fast and loud. She recalled Staryu in a hurry, then stowed its Poké Ball. She shot a furtive look at Ash across the pool.

Ash grinned awkwardly and waved. "Um, you're doing great?" he offered.

For a second, Misty looked like she could've breathed fire.

" _STARMIE!_ " she shrieked. " _GET HIM!"_

In a flash, Starmie exploded into the open, spinning over the watery playing field like a UFO. It made a frightening beeline for Pikachu, who squeaked in terror.

At the last second, Pikachu jumped. Starmie plunged, slamming into the platform so hard that it cracked in two. Water splashed high enough to almost soak the rafters.

Nimbly, Pikachu landed at the pool's edge, by Ash's feet. Starmie shot back out of the water again, whipping through the air like a buzzsaw blade gone wild.

Ash inhaled sharply. "Okay, um...I officially declare that I'm substituting my Pokémon, which is permitted in official battles as according to the Pokémon League rules!" he said loudly.

He could've sworn he heard Misty's sisters giggling on the sidelines.

Unhooking a Poké Ball from his belt, Ash prayed he could make this strategy work a second time.

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" he shouted. "Go for the gem!"

A burst of light, and Pidgeotto was out. It sailed through the air, talons outstretched, taking aim at Starmie…

But Starmie was too fast. It made a left turn in midair so suddenly that Pidgeotto nearly flew beak-first into the wall.

Misty's face was pink with fury. "Starmie! Bubblebeam!"

In the blink of an eye, Starmie tucked its front five appendages forward. A powerful jet of bubbles shot forth. Pidgeotto barely had time to flap its wings before the jet nailed it square in the feathery chest. The force pummeled the bird out of the air and into the floor by the pool.

Ash gasped. Pidgeotto was out for the count.

Misty tossed her ponytail defiantly. "You don't know what Starmie and I have been through, Ash!" she snapped as Starmie continued to spin rapidly around the rafters. "I've raised it since I was a little kid! I taught it the most powerful offensive moves it can learn! And it's faster than _ANYTHING_ on your team!" A frightening smile cracked across her face. "So don't you DARE act like I don't know what I'm doing!"

Ash couldn't fathom the thought. Trembling, he tossed out another Poké Ball.

"Butterfree, let's do it!"

Butterfree was barely out of its Poké Ball before it had to hastily dodge the lightning-fast projectile that was Starmie. The starfish made a wide curve around the gym before rounding back for another shot.

Ash skimmed the Pokédex again. What was the name of that attack that hurt Brock's Onix so bad? That purple powdery thing?

This must've been it. "Butterfree! Poison Powder!"

Flapping frantically, Butterfree unleashed a noxious lavender cloud from its wings. Starmie flew right through it, the shimmering spores clinging to its fleshy skin.

Ash whooped. "Yes! I gotcha now!"

Starmie banked downward. It sliced into the pool with barely a splash.

And then it shot skyward again, its body completely clean.

Ash's heart sank practically to his shoes. "Oh, yeah," he muttered. "Right. Water…"

He glanced across at Misty and gulped. He swore he'd never seen her look this possessed before.

"Starmie!" she commanded. "Confuse Ray!"

Starmie's body arched back as a strong pulsating light shot out of the gem in its center. It enveloped Butterfree, who squirmed and twitched in midair.

"C'mon, Butterfree, shake it off!" Ash yelped, checking the Pokédex again. "Um, Psybeam!"

But Butterfree didn't attack. It just fluttered erratically, whacking its head repeatedly against one of the support beams in the ceiling. It looked like it was in pain.

And then Starmie slammed into it out of nowhere.

Butterfree tumbled to the floor in a confused heap. Two Pokémon down.

"What did I tell you, Ash?" Misty gloated. "My Starmie is _perfectly_ trained! And it's all thanks to me!"

Ash furrowed his brow. He hated to admit it, but Misty was getting on his last nerve. And she was supposed to be his nice supportive friend, wasn't she?

"We're not done yet!" he shouted. "I still got Pikachu!"

Pikachu bounded back out to the platform. Immediately, Starmie dove, and Pikachu leapt to avoid another splashing full-body tackle.

"Thundershock it, Pikachu!" Ash shouted.

Another explosion of sparks. Not one of them connected with Starmie.

"Quick Attack!"

Pikachu leapt as Starmie whirled. They missed by a mile.

"Ash!" Brock called from the bleachers. "You've got to try and slow Starmie down! It's your only chance!"

"I'm _trying!_ " Ash shot back, frantically scrolling through his Pokédex. "But only like half these attacks are any good! The rest say they don't inflict any damage!"

"There's more to attacking than just doing damage, Ash!" Brock shouted as Starmie buzzed low over the pool. "You need to inflict a status condition! Paralyze it!"

" _SHUT UP, BROCK!"_ Misty bellowed, her brow drenched with sweat. " _NO COACHING!"_

Ash took notice. Misty didn't want her Starmie to get Paralyzed, eh? Well, that Cascade Badge still hung in the balance, and he had to do something…

And then, there on the Pokédex screen, Ash saw it again. Fourth down from the top of the list of Pikachu's learnable attacks.

 _ **Thunder Wave. Type: Electric. Category: Status. Effect: Paralyzes the target.**_

"Pikachu!" Ash shouted through a smile. "THUNDER WAVE!"

Pikachu tucked its arms and legs in, then leapt into the air. An electric blue pulse burst forth from its body.

Sailing towards Pikachu, Starmie flew gem-first into the pulse. Its appendages abruptly stopped counter-rotating. Momentum carried it forward a few more feet, then it plummeted like a stone into the pool.

Misty staggered backwards, white as a sheet.

Ash laughed. "And I may not have ever been all that great in school," he said, tugging his hat backwards in anticipation, "but if there's one thing I do know, it's that water conducts electricity!" Then: "Pikachu, Thundershock!"

The entire stadium lit up as Pikachu shocked the pool itself. Everyone shielded their eyes. The water fizzled and boiled under the pulse of the electricity. Starmie thrashed helplessly, unable to do anything else.

The light dimmed. Pikachu flopped back on the platform, exhausted but unbeaten. There, in the center of the pool, floated Starmie, singed and motionless. The light faded from its gem.

Ash could've floated ten feet off the floor. "All right!" he cheered. "I did it! Gym badge #2 is all mine!"

He looked across the pool. And suddenly, his urge to celebrate vanished.

Misty had dropped to her knees, arms hanging limply at her sides. Her hair was matted to her forehead. Her lip quivered. And even from a stadium-size swimming pool's length away, Ash could plainly see the wetness in her eyes as she stared incredulously at her powerhouse Starmie, unconscious, floating unceremoniously in the water like pond scum.

* * *

"Congratulations, Ash! Wow, that was one of the best battles I've ever seen anyone fight!"

Daisy fished into her pocket for something while Violet and Lily flanked her, smiling admirably at Ash and Pikachu. Brock was in the corner, unsure of how best to talk to Misty, whose thousand-yard stare wasn't fixed on any particular point.

Finally, Daisy produced what she'd been looking for - a small blue badge shaped like a droplet of water. "The Cascade Badge is all yours, kid! Go out there and tear through the rest of this gym challenge - you should have no problem at all!"

Ash looked at the badge in his palm. Yesterday it had been the only thing on his mind. Now just looking at it shot a guilty pang through his stomach.

"Yeah, you're gonna go far, Ash, I can tell!" Violet added, tossing her hair importantly. "We have a sixth sense for this sort of thing, y'know?"

Lily nodded. "Oh, absolutely! Every trainer we meet, we can always tell right away whether they'll ever amount to anything! Y'know, whether or not they'll ever achieve their goals!"

And just as Ash had feared, the three sisters rounded on Misty in the corner.

"Because as much as it hurts to hear," Violet sneered, "harsh reality is that _some_ trainers just aren't good enough. No matter how much they like to boast about it."

Misty didn't rise. She stared resolutely at the floor, her eyes tense, her mouth a thin line of pure fury.

"Yep, it stinks, I know," cooed Daisy through an oily smile, "but _some_ trainers can work hard all their lives, talk a big big game about how much they studied or whatever, and _still_ blow their big chance against a rookie, of all things! I wonder where all their snooty confidence goes after that happens, huh, girls?"

Ash clutched the Cascade Badge so hard, the pin dug into his flesh. He couldn't even feel it through his rage.

"I'd say that confidence is leaking out through her eyes again, from the looks of it," Violet hissed, a nasty laugh in her voice. "Lily, you'd better get the mop, 'cause it looks like our pathetic little baby sister is gonna have herself a widdle bitty accident!"

Lily giggled. "I think it's more like she _is_ an accident! A tiny, whiny, useless little accide-"

" _ **HEY! YOU LAY OFF HER!"**_

Misty gasped. Brock blinked. The sisters all whirled around, scandalized.

"What right do you three have to talk to Misty that way?" Ash snarled, stomping up to them all. "She fought the heck out of that battle, and you can't even try to deny it! She's one of the best offensive trainers I've ever seen! And she fought _hard_ to get where she is! Don't you dare try to make her feel like dirt just because you know she's a more talented trainer than you three lazy bums will ever be! Misty's a champion and a genius! And she's _my friend!_ And if I hadn't run into her when I did, I would never have made it this far!"

He put his arm around Misty and glared dangerously at the sisters. Misty blinked the redness out of her eyes.

"Ash...you mean that?"

"You're darn right I do," Ash said. "If it wasn't for your advice and your help, I'd probably still be on Route 1 full of scratches and beak marks."

Violet, Lily, and Daisy just stood there, mouths agape. None of them knew how to react.

Ash pinned the Cascade Badge to the inside of his jacket, next to the Boulder Badge. "I earned this badge fair and square, same as my last one. And I did it with my friends' help. And the three of us are going to keep exploring the Kanto region _together_ , helping each other out, because that's what friends do." He shot a furtive glance at the sisters. "And it's what _family_ is supposed to do too."

Daisy looked like she'd been slapped. She tried to object, but the words still weren't coming.

Brock crossed his arms defiantly. "He's right. And don't you act like he isn't, either. You girls are better than this. You ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

Ash and Brock headed for the door, Pikachu scurrying beside them. Misty hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder and stood up straight, head held high.

"I'll be seeing you, dear sisters," she said. "And I _will_ be back, and I _will_ be even stronger. Let me know when you've had enough."

* * *

As they marched down the aquarium-lined hall and flung the doors open, stepping back out into the late afternoon sun, Misty and Ash exchanged glances. Misty was smiling more sincerely than Ash had seen yet.

"That was the nicest thing anyone's ever said about me, Ash," she said. There was a hint of a quiver in her voice. "Thank you."

Ash smiled back. "Anytime, Misty. I meant it, y'know. You're a killer trainer. If I hadn't figured out that Thunder Wave thing, you would've had me and Pikachu up against the wall. You really know your stuff."

Brock chuckled. "He's not the only one who thinks so, either. You've made huge strides, Misty, I've seen it. You keep up your progress and there'll be no stopping you."

The red returned to Misty's face - softer this time, more innocent.

"I'm sorry if I freaked you out in that battle, Ash," she added, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "This meant a lot to me… I kinda got a little nuts tryin' to prove myself."

"Don't sweat it," Ash assured her, as Pikachu scampered up his back to perch on his head. "They're just jealous 'cause they know you're gonna go places. I couldn't stand there and let them dump on you like that…" A vision of Gary's cackling face flashed in his mind. "It's no fun being teased and insulted. Especially by someone you thought you could trust."

Misty's eyes turned to the ground. "Tell me about it."

"As soon as they got that gym, the power went straight to their heads," Brock muttered. "I've never seen them that bad before. But don't you worry, if they ever pull any of that junk on you again, we'll always have your back."

The smile grew wider across Misty's face. "Thanks, guys. You really are the best…"

She smirked mischievously at Ash. "But hey, whenever you're up for a rematch, you better believe I'm gonna kick your butt."

Ash laughed as they crossed the street. He squinted at the Cerulean City skyline, silhouetted majestically under a brilliant orange-pink sky.

"Oh, don't worry. I believe it."


	8. The Lighthouse

The next day was all about training. Though Ash was eager to get a move on to Vermilion City so he could earn his third gym badge as soon as possible, Brock and Misty warned him that the gym leader he'd face there would be even more of a challenge than they had been.

"Trust me," said Brock, looking concernedly at Pikachu as it romped around the Pokémon Center lobby. "The Vermilion City Gym leader gives a lot of trainers a headache."

So the three of them set out to raise up their Pokémon together. Cerulean City being Misty's hometown, she knew the turf better than any of them, and suggested an excursion up to Routes 24 and 25, at the northern outskirts of the city, where trainers often gathered and wild Pokémon were plentiful.

"I used to train there when I was younger," she said. "I bet the Pidgey and Bellsprout on those routes still cower in fear of my Starmie. Plus, there's a local celebrity who lives up that way..."

"Who?" asked Ash. He was always interested in any opportunity to meet someone famous - a Pokémon League Champion, perhaps?

"His name is Bill," Misty explained. "He's a computer whiz - they call him the Pokémaniac. Lives at the lighthouse on the cape. I bet he'd have some good advice for how to get ahead in your gym challenge."

Route 24 stretched over water, across a long gilded metal footbridge that shined in the midday sun. A wrought metal sign over its entrance point read "NUGGET BRIDGE". Young trainers dotted the bridge here and there, some fishing, some playing with their Pokémon.

"Perfect opportunities," said Ash, hoisting his backpack as Pikachu leapt to the ready.

Ash met challenger after challenger. They were easy battles - the kids here had nothing more intimidating than some Rattata and Weedle. It wasn't much experience for Pikachu, Pidgeotto, and Butterfree, but as Brock reminded, every little bit helps.

Each victory boosted Ash's energy level, as well as his confidence. "Man, what a great day!" he beamed, stroking Pidgeotto's plumage after it successfully knocked out one young trainer's Kakuna. "I feel like I could accomplish anything!"

Misty smirked. "Don't get too cocky there, Ash. We haven't even made it across the bridge yet."

"Hey, c'mon, you can't bring me down right now," Ash said. "I'm on a roll! I'm unstoppable!"

But then Ash's stomach clenched as an all-too-familiar voice met his ears.

"Unstoppable, eh, Ashy-boy? Since when?"

Ash whirled around in disbelief. There he was, striding confidently up the bridge from the direction of Route 25, the same stupid smug grin on his face as always. His belt boasted a whopping six Poké Balls.

"Didn't expect to see you here, Ash," he sneered. "Thought you would've thrown in the towel before you even got to Viridian City!"

Ash seethed. "Well, you were wrong, _Gary._ "

Misty and Brock both blinked in surprise. "Gary?!" Misty squeaked. "So _you're_ the Gary that Ash is always talking about?"

Gary tossed his spiky brown hair out of his eyes and smiled cheesily. "Please, honey, it's Gary _Oak_ , future Pokémon League Champion. Be sure to remember the full title."

"Oh, I remember you, all right," Brock sniffed. "You challenged me at the Pewter City Gym last week. You were a real sore winner, if I recall…"

"Hey, not my fault your wimpy little Onix couldn't take my Nidoran's Double Kicks to the face, buddy!" Gary jeered. Ash had to struggle not to put a kick in his face of his own. "So what's all this about, Ash? How'd you get a gym leader to tag along with you? And who's Redhead over here, your girlfriend?"

Misty blushed deep crimson. "Oh my gosh, can't a girl and a boy just be friends anymore?!" she squealed.

"These are my friends, Brock and Misty," Ash said proudly, as Pikachu leapt to his shoulder. "The three of us are traveling and training together. So you're not the only one who's learning from the best, Mr. My-Grandpa-Taught-Me-Everything."

Gary scoffed. "Whatever, dude. Pretty pathetic that you need two other trainers to hold your hand on your Pokémon journey. Me, I've made it all this way by myself! And you're walking around with a dinky little Pikachu? You should see some of the powerful Pokémon I've caught!"

Pikachu arched its back, its cheeks sparking.

"I don't need to see your dumb Pokémon, you show-off," Ash shot back.

Gary unhooked a handful of Poké Balls from his belt. "Too bad, 'cause you're gettin' em!"

In a flash, four Pokémon appeared. A large gangly Fearow, flapping its rough wings as it screeched. A spiny Sandslash, crouched in a ball as it bared its long steely claws. A Nidorino, pink and mottled, snuffing at the boards of the bridge and twitching its large spiky ears. And a Beedrill, its long thin legs dangling as it buzzed loudly in midair. (Misty instinctively took a step back.)

"Feast your eyes on greatness!" Gary proclaimed, arms spread wide. "And this isn't even half of the Pokémon I've caught so far! Grandpa says even he can't believe how many I've got!"

Brock squinted dismissively. "You're Professor Samuel Oak's grandson, right? You stay in touch with him, huh?"

Gary leaned on the rail of the bridge, scratching his Nidorino behind the ear. "Just talked to him on the phone! Met a colleague of his, that computer genius Bill or whatever his name is, up at the lighthouse on the cape? The guy programmed the whole PC storage system, helped Grandpa patent the Pokédex...and he's got a ton of rare Pokémon in his collection! Yep, safe to say I'm pretty well connected," he finished with another self-satisfied smirk.

Ash clutched Butterfree's Poké Ball. "You wanna see if you're still that confident after a battle, Gary? I've got two gym badges already, I bet I could mop this bridge with you."

Gary glanced at Ash's waist. "With only three Pokémon? I don't think so, pal. It's not even worth my time to battle you - it'd be too easy." With two Poké Balls per hand, he recalled his Pokémon. "Come crawlin' back once you've actually got a full team and _maybe_ I'll consider kicking your butt then. Smell ya later!"

And with that, he pushed right through Ash, Misty, and Brock, chuckling to himself without looking back.

Misty made a sound halfway between a cough and a snort. "Wow, what a _jerk!_ Ash, I thought you were exaggerating all this time, but…"

"Thinks I can't catch more Pokémon than him, huh?" Ash interjected. Pikachu leapt to the bridge as Ash trembled with rage. "Thinks he's so awesome just 'cause he's got a full team or whatever? I'll show him! I'll show everybody!"

Tugging the brim of his hat down, Ash stomped off towards Route 25.

"Whoa, Ash," Brock warned, "what are you planning to do?"

Ash fished an empty Poké Ball out of his backpack.

"I'm gonna catch some more Pokémon!" he shouted over his shoulder. "What's it look like?"

* * *

The three trainers scurried up the bridge. They knew wild Pokémon awaited them in the long grass surrounding the beach at Cerulean Cape.

They didn't know what awaited them overhead.

"So what do you think?" said Meowth as he stowed the listening device. "Who wants to set this baby down and go to the beach-nya?"

Jessie tossed her crimson hair in indignation as she leaned on the edge of the hot air balloon's basket. "Ugh, sea air wreaks havoc on my complexion...but I suppose it'll be worth it to nab the rare Pokémon that this Bill joker apparently keeps around."

"Sounds good to me," James said, staring off at the beach in the distance. The lighthouse jutted up from atop a rocky hill at the water's edge, a red and white pillar against the dunes. "And the twerps are heading up that way too! We can nab their Pikachu on the way back! That's bound to put us back in the boss' good graces!"

"I still say he overreacted," Meowth muttered as he slouched against the wall of the basket. "He didn't have to yell at us like that-nya. I mean, sure, we lost the Moon Stones, and the rest of the gang didn't get any fossils, but he's already got plenty, doesn't he? What's one or two more-nya?"

Jessie crossed her arms and pouted. "Well, darn it, doesn't he understand we're doing our best out here? It's not our fault this kid's Pikachu is exceptionally powerful. But that'll make our victory all the more sweet when we do finally bring it in to the boss, I suppose." She turned to James. "When we get our big bonuses, what do you plan to buy?"

"Maybe put a down payment on a nice truck or something," James grumbled as he struggled with the balloon's gas jet.

* * *

Route 25 was a long trek northeast, a winding path lined with grassy patches. Several groups of trainers were out and about, including a few exuberant hikers and a group of giggly schoolgirls on a field trip. But Ash didn't even stop to challenge them.

"I'll worry about that later," he muttered as he combed the tall grass, Pikachu perched atop his head on lookout. "Right now I gotta find more Pokémon! Gary's not gonna lord this over me, not this time!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "Ash, the louder you complain about Gary, the more Pokémon you're gonna scare away."

"Ah, let's just enjoy the walk," Brock said under his breath. "Smell that sea air!"

"I've lived here for twelve years, remember?," Misty griped. "We just call it air here."

As the day wore on, Ash encountered very few Pokémon he hadn't already seen - Pidgey and Caterpie, mostly, though he did have a close encounter with a wiggly Bellsprout that poofed a cloud of green spores and made a hasty getaway before he could nab it. Stealth was out the window right now; all Ash cared about was finding a new capture as quick as possible.

The sun was sinking slowly behind them by the time they made it to the beach. The famous lighthouse stood majestically on the rocks, its long shadow cast across the softly breaking waves.

Ash kicked up spurts of sand as he ran across the beach, searching for Pokémon. Pikachu scurried along beside him, lightning tail bobbing with each bound.

"C'mon, guys!" Ash groused. "Where the heck are you?"

Pikachu squeaked, pointing one paw excitedly at a nearby sand dune.

Ash saw it. A tiny red crustacean, skittering sideways along the sand. It clicked its pincers, blissfully unaware of anything. In a flash, Ash clicked the Pokédex open.

" _ **Krabby, the River Crab Pokémon. It can be found near the sea. Its large pincers are not only used as powerful weapons, but also for balance when walking sideways. The pincers grow back if they are torn out of their sockets."**_

"Ooh, powerful weapons, eh?" Ash grinned, watching Krabby contentedly blow foamy bubbles from its jagged mouth. "Sounds like a great potential teammate, huh, Pikachu? And it's kinda cute, too!"

Misty and Brock jogged up behind Ash. "Oh yeah, Krabby are cute," Brock panted, "but they're fast. You wanna catch that thing, be careful - strong things can come in cute packages."

"Exhibit A," Misty said confidently, raising her hand.

Ash unhooked a Poké Ball as Pikachu scampered forward, its cheeks sparking. "Then that's just the kind of Pokémon I want to add to my team! Pikachu, let's go! Thundershock!"

A burst of lightning bolts surged from Pikachu's body. Krabby tumbled backwards from the shock. Then it leapt up, clearly angry, and quickly scuttled toward Pikachu, pincers extended.

Pikachu deftly dodged the Vicegrip attack; Krabby's pincer sunk into the sand.

"Slow it down, Pikachu!" Ash shouted. "Thunder Wave!"

A strong blue surge, and Krabby keeled onto its back, twitching slightly.

"Now, finish it! Quick Attack!"

Pikachu launched at Krabby, knocking into it with the force of its whole body. Krabby was out cold.

Ash threw the Poké Ball. It scooped up Krabby and fell silently to the sand.

"Wow, nicely done!" Brock commended, as Ash hoisted the ball over his head in triumph. "And now you've got a Water Pokémon - your team's getting more well-rounded already!"

Ash cradled the Poké Ball as Pikachu scampered up his back to admire it with him. "Wow, four Pokémon! I'll be ahead of Gary in no time! I gotta call Professor Oak and tell him! Where's the nearest phone?"

Misty stifled a laugh. "Yes, Ash, there's lots of pay phones on the beach."

"Oh, you know who has a phone you can use?" Brock said, pointing to the lighthouse. "Bill! He's right up there! And didn't Gary say he's friends with Professor Oak?"

"Perfect!" Ash whooped, breaking into a full-tilt run. He couldn't wait to show the professor his newest teammate. This was shaping up to be a great day after all!

But as Ash and his friends drew closer to cottage at the foot of the lighthouse, they noticed something was amiss.

There was a hot air balloon anchored to the top of the lighthouse. A balloon shaped like the head of a Meowth.

"...Does that belong to Bill?" Ash asked quizzically. A knot was starting to form in his stomach.

Misty and Brock gaped up at the balloon. "I don't think so," Misty gulped.

* * *

"All right, Brainiac, let's make this quick," Jessie cooed. "Hand over your rare Pokémon, and maybe we'll consider _not_ telling Ekans to eat your head."

Bill struggled to escape his chair, but it was no use - Ekans' scaly body was coiled too tightly around him, binding him in place.

"I _told_ you weirdos already!" he barked. "I don't keep my Pokémon in the house! They're all stored via PC! Now let me outta this dang chair!"

Jessie planted both hands on the arms of the chair, drawing her face dangerously close to Bill's. "Well then, sweetie, if I were you, I'd cough up that password pretty quickly, wouldn't I?" she whispered, brushing Bill's wavy brown hair from his eyes.

Bill squirmed as Ekans' tongue flittered against his ear. "Forget it! I'll never tell!"

With an exasperated sigh, Jessie kicked Bill square in the chest, knocking him and his chair backwards onto the floor. "Ugh, for a geek, you would've been pretty cute if you weren't such a stubborn pain in the butt," she grumbled. She strode over to the computer desk as Bill kept straining against Ekans' Wrap attack. "James, Meowth, haven't you hacked this piece of junk yet?"

James sat hunched over the keyboard, watching as the decryption program ran through its cycles on the screen. "Not yet, but we're working on it!" he said. "Jeez, how many different 10-character letter and number combinations can there possibly be?"

"Meh, wake me up when you two finally get out of the Stone Age-nya," Meowth yawned, lazily batting at the Newton's Cradle on Bill's desk.

BAM.

The front door flew open.

"You three again!" Ash boomed, Misty and Brock at his sides; Pikachu sparked madly. "I knew something was up!"

From the floor, Bill's face lit up. "Oh, thank heavens! Please tell me y'all can get these losers outta here?"

"It'd be our pleasure," Misty grinned, tossing out a Poké Ball. "Go, Staryu!"

But before Staryu could even land, James' own Poké Ball was in the air. "Go, Koffing! Smokescreen!"

Koffing burst forth, a noxious cloud belching from every pore. Ash covered his face with his coat, coughing and sputtering. The air was thick and black, but he could hear sounds. Scuffling, then a thump and a click. And Jessie's voice shouting "I got it! Quick, up the stairs!"

Ash's stomach lurched. He fumbled for a Poké Ball.

"Pidgeotto! Whirlwind!"

Out of the ball, Pidgeotto beat its wings hard, dispersing the smoke. Bill lay on the floor, frazzled but no longer bound to the chair. The Rockets and their Pokémon were gone. To Ash's horror, so was someone else.

" _PIKACHU!"_

Misty and Brock helped Bill to his feet. "They must've gone up the lighthouse steps!" he gasped, pointing at an open door on the far wall. "That's where they came in! Quick, nab 'em before they take off!"

Ash made a lunge towards the door. Then he stopped in his tracks as he remembered something.

"Brock! Quick, I need a Super Potion!"

* * *

Jessie, James, and Meowth burst into the lamp room. James yanked on the rope that kept their balloon tethered to the railing.

"Well, at least we're getting out of here with something!" Jessie beamed, admiring her prize. Pikachu pawed futilely against the edges of the bell jar, its tiny face livid as it squeaked at its captors. It unleashed a Thundershock attack that went absolutely nowhere.

"Zap all you want, you miserable little vermin!" Meowth laughed. "You think we were stupid enough not to insulate that thing with rubber-nya?"

"Hold it right there!"

The Rockets whirled around. Ash had just clambered up the stairs behind them, panting heavily. He had one hand behind his back.

"Too late, twerp!" James snickered. "We got your Pikachu fair and square! And our boss is gonna love it! Don't try any funny business, you little jerk!" he added, as Meowth bared his claws menacingly. Pikachu pounded desperately on the thick glass of the jar.

Ash forced himself to keep his cool. "Hey, it's rare and powerful Pokémon you're after, right?" he wheezed. "Well, I've got one more that you haven't met yet. I bet your boss would _really_ like this one."

Jessie laughed, harsh and bitter. "Don't try to outsmart us, brat! We're not dumb enough to fall for that!"

"Whoa, hang on a second," James interjected. "Two Pokémon would be better than one, right?"

Ash grinned. "Why don't you tell me?"

Jessie and James both yelped as Ash suddenly heaved a Pokémon at them - small, red, and baring its sharp pincers.

"OWWW!"

Krabby latched onto James' finger. James flailed, struggling to pry the Pokémon off him, but Krabby was surprisingly resilient for such a little thing, and it only clamped tighter.

"GET IT OFF! _GET IT OFF!"_

In the confusion, James tumbled onto Jessie, and the bell jar went flying. It cracked against the steel floor and shattered, sending Pikachu tumbling out. It leapt into Ash's arms, squeaking happily.

"I gotcha, Pikachu!" Ash said. "Now, let's finish off these losers!"

Meowth put his paws out. "Don't you even dare-nya-"

Too late. Pikachu's Thundershock attack nailed Jessie and Meowth square in the chest. Both of them screamed as a thousand volts shot through them. Then they collapsed, groaning and smoldering.

James had dodged the attack, still flailing wildly trying to get Krabby off his finger. Ash couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it.

But as James swung his arm, a loud SNAP rent the air, and Ash's laughter caught in his throat.

Krabby's claw was still firmly attached to James' finger.

Krabby, however, was not. It had been flung upwards, now sporting one claw, one stubby arm, and an extremely alarmed expression.

Ash's body went cold as he saw his crippled Pokémon tumble over the edge of the railing.

" _KRABBY!"_

For one fleeting second, he almost met the impulse to leap after it.

But then a hand reached up and caught Krabby out of midair. And to Ash's relief, the hand belonged to Misty, standing triumphantly on the back of her powerhouse Starmie as it levitated her steadily up to the top of the lighthouse.

"What did you do to this poor innocent Pokémon?!" she bellowed. "How would you like it if somebody ripped your arm off, huh?"

James gulped. "Hey, c'mon, it's not like I meant to!"

"Starmie!" Misty shouted. "Psychic!"

Ash and Pikachu ducked. The gem in Starmie's center lit up as it unleashed a powerful blast of psychic energy, knocking Jessie, James, and Meowth flat against the glass of the lighthouse lamp.

Another voice cut through the battle. "Zubat! Supersonic!"

Ash glanced up. There was Brock, standing atop the head of his behemoth Onix, with Zubat fluttering furiously next to him. Ash just had time to cover his ears as Zubat unleashed an earsplitting screech. The Rockets writhed in agony, clutching their heads.

"Get to the balloon!" Jessie shrieked. "Let's get outta here!"

"Aw, leaving so soon?" said a twangy voice from behind Ash. "Lemme send y'all off with a little partin' gift!"

Ash got to his feet. Bill had just emerged from the staircase, flanked by three Pokémon. All of them were quadrupedal and vaguely doglike - one blue with frills and a fish tail, one covered in prickly yellow spikes, and one red with flaming orange tufts of fur.

"Not so eager to see my rare Pokémon collection anymore, eh?" Bill smirked as the Rockets scrambled for their balloon basket. The Pokémon lunged.

"Vaporeon, Water Gun! Jolteon, Thunderbolt! Flareon, Flamethrower!"

Bill's Pokémon unleashed a thundering assault of water, lightning, and fire, lighting up the lamp room brighter than even the lamp itself probably could've. Jessie, James, and Meowth all screamed as they were knocked backwards into the basket.

Flareon's Flamethrower attack arched upwards, torching the balloon's fabric. It split, and air rushed out, ruffling Ash's clothes and sending the Rockets soaring skyward. Their screams faded to nothing as the out-of-control balloon spun wildly into the distance, vanishing to nothing in the twilight sky.

Ash adjusted his hat with one hand and cradled Pikachu with the other. "Wow," he chuckled, "that was amazing! You've got some pretty awesome Pokémon there, man!"

Bill knelt down as his Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon all gathered lovingly around him. "Hey," he said with a smile. "They don't call me the Pokémaniac for nothin'."

* * *

"Thanks again for savin' my life 'n all, gang!"

Bill smiled as he set down a pot of tea and four cups. Misty and Brock were seated at the tiny kitchen table that had been squeezed into a room filled with file boxes and shelves of computer discs. Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Flareon were curled up under the table, sleeping contentedly. Ash and Pikachu, however, were otherwise occupied.

"Aw, Krabby," Ash said softly. "What did they do to you?"

Krabby gingerly flexed its stub of an arm. The weight of its one remaining claw kept it standing lopsidedly on Bill's cluttered computer desk. Pikachu kept trying to stand him up straight, to no avail.

Misty put a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Hey, Krabby will be okay, Ash, don't worry," she reassured. "Remember what the Pokédex said? Its claw will grow back eventually."

Krabby tried to walk across the desk. It took one scuttling step and tumbled over, then waddled in a futile circle. Clicking noisily, it spit a cloud of frustrated bubbles.

"Yeah, but until it does, it's not gonna have an easy time walking around," Brock said. "Poor little guy."

Ash ran a worried hand across his face. "There's gotta be something we can do…"

"Sure there is!" Bill intoned. "Y'all can use the PC and send the li'l critter off to Professor Oak's lab so's he can heal up! He'll get zapped there faster 'n two shakes of an Eevee's tail!"

Ash blinked. "You can transport Pokémon by PC? Wait, really?!"

"You kinda have to," Brock nodded. "Pokémon League rules state that official league trainers can only carry a team of six Pokémon at the most. So if you have a lot, transporting them via PC is the fastest way to switch them around."

Bill stood next to a larger computer at the back of the room. Hooked up to it was an odd device with a Poké Ball-shaped dock in the middle.

"Ash, you registered as a trainer at Professor Oak's lab, right?" he asked. "So that's where you'd be sendin' your Krabby. And I know ol' Sam Oak - he'll take darn good care of your li'l buddy there. And any others you happen to catch! My program's bog-standard on the PC in every Pokémon Center from here to Cinnabar Island - no matter where you are, y'all three can always get in touch with him!"

Ash smiled and scratched the top of Pikachu's head. "Well, if there's anyone I'd trust with my Pokémon, it's definitely Professor Oak!"

He held out Krabby's Poké Ball. "C'mon, buddy, let's go for a ride!"

In a flash of light, Krabby leapt into the ball. It clicked shut.

Ash placed it delicately on the transport dock and swiped the mouse, bringing up the computer's home screen. "All right, Bill, so how do I work this thing?"

* * *

Professor Oak glanced up from his notes. A familiar binging tone sounded from his PC.

An instant later, a crackle of light from the transport dock as a Poké Ball appeared there.

Oak glanced at the PC screen. "A Pokémon from Ash!" he chuckled. "And sent from Cerulean City! He's doing well, that boy - I knew he'd go far." He inspected the Poké Ball. "Let's see what he captured, eh?"

He clicked the ball open. Krabby appeared, slumped to one side on the desk.

"Oh dear!" Oak gasped. "You've got a claw missing! Well, no worries - a few days' exercise in the pond out back, and you'll be back to your old self in no time at a-"

SNAP.

Professor Oak howled as the curious Krabby stuck out its good pincer and latched onto his finger.

"Ooh-ho-hoo, Ash," Oak winced through gritted teeth, "with Pokémon like this, you'll be a champion someday for sure…"


End file.
